Russell edges Antonelli in Austrian GP final practice as Hamilton shines for Ferrari

George Russell edged Mercedes team-mate and Formula 1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli by just 0.038 seconds to top final practice at the Austrian Grand Prix on Saturday, with Lewis Hamilton delivering an encouraging FP3 for Ferrari in third.

Mercedes arrived at the Red Bull Ring as heavy favourites after dominating the early stages of the 2026 season, suffering their first defeat only last time out in Barcelona, where Hamilton and Ferrari ended the Silver Arrows’ winning run. McLaren had appeared the most likely threat on Friday in the Styrian heat, but Saturday’s session underlined that Mercedes’ one-lap pace remains formidable.

The session opened sluggishly in oppressive temperatures well above 30°C before reigning world champion Lando Norris kicked off the qualifying simulations with a 1m07.832s lap after 15 minutes. Antonelli then seized the initiative with a 1m07.533s effort to put Mercedes on top, while Charles Leclerc briefly elevated Ferrari to second, 0.155s off the pace.

Max Verstappen slotted into fourth in the heavily upgraded Red Bull RB22, leaving the top four teams separated by just over three tenths at the halfway point — a remarkably tight picture heading into qualifying.

Russell closed to within 0.017s of his team-mate before Antonelli responded with a commanding 1m07.134s lap to stretch the gap. Russell had reported “really bad straight-line braking on the front axle” into Turn 3, which he acknowledged had exaggerated the deficit to the Italian teenager.

In the final 15 minutes, Antonelli was unable to improve on his benchmark, allowing Hamilton to move up to second, 0.077s adrift. Leclerc dropped out of contention after locking up at Turn 3, aborting his flying lap and failing to recover pace on damaged tyres.

With the session closing out, Russell finally found a clean lap to post 1m07.096s and go top, 0.038s clear of Antonelli, who peeled into the pitlane after losing time in the opening two sectors and could not respond. Hamilton’s 1m07.211s secured third, just over a tenth behind Russell, setting up what promises to be a tightly contested qualifying session.

McLaren’s challenge appeared to fade as the session progressed, leaving the intra-Mercedes rivalry and Hamilton’s resurgent Ferrari as the defining storylines heading into the afternoon.