Kimi Antonelli went quickest in the opening practice session for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix weekend, leading a Mercedes one-two at the Red Bull Ring.

The championship leader posted a best lap of 1:07.796 on Soft compound tyres, finishing 0.040s clear of team-mate George Russell as Mercedes established the early benchmark in Spielberg. Oscar Piastri was third for McLaren, 0.117s off Antonelli’s time, with Max Verstappen fourth after a disrupted start to his session. The session also featured several rookie appearances, as teams used the non-Sprint weekend to complete mandatory young driver running.

Russell was the first of the Mercedes drivers to move to the top, posting a 1:10.407 on medium tyres before improving as the early laps unfolded. Antonelli then took over with a 1:09.119 and later dropped to a 1:08.448, despite also running wide at Turn 1 during the opening phase.

At the halfway stage, both Mercedes cars switched to the Soft tyre. Antonelli immediately lowered the benchmark to 1:07.796, and while Russell later closed the margin to just four hundredths, he could not displace his team-mate before the session was curtailed in the final moments.

Piastri emerged as Mercedes’ closest rival, his 1:07.913 placing him third and less than a tenth clear of Verstappen. His McLaren team-mate Lando Norris had a far more limited programme after a hydraulic leak kept him in the garage until the final quarter of an hour. Norris eventually completed nine laps and finished seventh, 0.960s behind Piastri.

Verstappen’s running was delayed when his Red Bull stopped in the pit lane in the early minutes, the Dutch driver reporting anti-stall problems. After a second attempt also ended before he reached the track, Verstappen finally joined the session after more than 20 minutes and went on to record a 1:08.077, 0.281s shy of the fastest time.

Lewis Hamilton was fifth for Ferrari on a 1:08.461, while Arvid Lindblad delivered an eye-catching sixth place for Racing Bulls. The rookie finished 0.930s off the front and 0.911s ahead of Ayumu Iwasa, who was 15th in the sister car.

Franco Colapinto placed eighth for Alpine, leading team-mate Pierre Gasly by 0.584s, while Dino Beganovic was ninth in Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. The Swede was the quickest of the FP1-only rookie drivers, edging Haas’ Oliver Bearman by 0.017s.

Nico Hülkenberg followed in 11th for Audi after completing 30 laps, with Isack Hadjar 12th in the second Red Bull. Hadjar was another driver to lose time in the garage and completed only 11 laps, ending up 1.404s behind team-mate Verstappen.

Valtteri Bottas took 13th for Cadillac, ahead of Gasly, Iwasa and Williams’ Alexander Albon. Paul Aron was 17th in the second Audi, only 0.002s behind Albon, while Luke Browning was 18th in the Williams usually raced by Carlos Sainz.

Ryo Hirakawa finished 19th for Haas, with Jak Crawford 20th in place of Lance Stroll at Aston Martin. Sergio Pérez ended the session 21st after his Cadillac stopped at Turn 3 in the final minute, bringing out the red flags and preventing any further improvements.

Fernando Alonso completed the classification in 22nd, the Aston Martin driver finishing 0.050s behind Pérez after an earlier trip through the run-off at Turn 3.

2026 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1 
1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:07.796 29 229.712
2 George Russell Mercedes 1:07.836 0.040 30 229.577
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:07.913 0.117 26 229.316
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:08.077 0.281 17 228.764
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:08.461 0.665 25 227.481
6 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:08.726 0.930 18 226.604
7 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:08.873 1.077 9 226.120
8 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 1:08.962 1.166 27 225.828
9 Dino Beganovic Ferrari 1:09.054 1.258 26 225.527
10 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:09.071 1.275 26 225.472
11 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:09.165 1.369 30 225.165
12 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:09.481 1.685 11 224.141
13 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 1:09.521 1.725 21 224.012
14 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 1:09.546 1.750 28 223.932
15 Ayumu Iwasa Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:09.637 1.841 19 223.639
16 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:09.644 1.848 31 223.617
17 Paul Aron Audi 1:09.646 1.850 20 223.610
18 Luke Browning Williams/Mercedes 1:09.979 2.183 29 222.546
19 Ryō Hirakawa Haas/Ferrari 1:10.493 2.697 23 220.924
20 Jak Crawford Aston Martin/Honda 1:11.202 3.406 22 218.724
21 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 1:11.283 3.487 14 218.475
22 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 1:11.333 3.537 21 218.322