Russell edges Antonelli to lead Mercedes 1-2 in Austrian GP final practice

George Russell edged team-mate and Formula 1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli by just 0.038 seconds to top third free practice at the Austrian Grand Prix on Saturday, setting up a compelling qualifying session at a sweltering Red Bull Ring.

Russell’s late 1m07.096s lap denied Antonelli a clean sweep of all three practice sessions, with the Italian unable to respond after losing time in the first two sectors on his final run. Lewis Hamilton gave Ferrari genuine encouragement by finishing third, just over a tenth behind Russell on a 1m07.211s, while McLaren’s Lando Norris and Max Verstappen rounded out the top five.

Mercedes arrived in Styria as the team to beat after winning every race of the 2026 season bar one — Hamilton and Ferrari ended that run in Barcelona — and Saturday’s session did little to suggest the Silver Arrows’ one-lap advantage has diminished. With temperatures clearing 30°C in the oppressive Styrian heat, the top four constructors were separated by little more than three tenths at the halfway point, hinting at a tightly contested qualifying.

Norris had set the early pace with a 1m07.832s effort before Antonelli put Mercedes on top with a 1m07.533s lap. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc briefly split the two Silver Arrows before a lock-up at Turn 3 on his final run left him unable to improve on damaged tyres, dropping him out of the leading battle.

Russell’s route to the top of the timesheets was not entirely smooth. The Briton reported “really bad straight-line braking on the front axle” into Turn 3, a problem he said exaggerated the gap between himself and Antonelli during the middle phase of the session. Despite that, he found the margin he needed when it mattered most.

Max Verstappen ran the heavily upgraded Red Bull RB22 to fifth, with the four leading teams all represented in the top five — a pattern that points toward a wide-open qualifying battle. Isack Hadjar was the notable absentee from that leading group in the second Red Bull.

With qualifying to follow, Russell’s late benchmark gives Mercedes the psychological edge heading into the session, though Antonelli’s pace throughout the weekend suggests the championship leader will not concede top spot without a fight.