George Russell produced a late burst of pace to top final practice at the Austrian Grand Prix from his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli.
World championship leader Antonelli topped both of Friday’s practices at the Red Bull Ring and appeared to be further separating himself from his rivals for much of Saturday’s session, before the script flipped as his closest title challengers came to life in the closing stages.
First, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton closed within a tenth of Antonelli, then Russell, who had looked out of sorts for most of the session, delivered a lap of 1:07.096s to go 0.038s clear of his team-mate, setting up a potentially enthralling qualifying contest later on Saturday.
Antonelli leads Hamilton by 41 points at the top of the standings, with Russell a further nine points back in third. The 19-year-old Italian had claimed the first five victories of his career in succession before Hamilton claimed his first win for Ferrari last time out in Barcelona.
Oscar Piastri was almost a quarter of a second off the pace in fourth as he edged out his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, with Max Verstappen marginally behind them in sixth as Red Bull continued their attempts to get the most out of the major upgrade package they’ve brought to the team’s home race.
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Highlights from Friday’s practice sessions at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc once more struggled to match his Ferrari team-mate Hamilton as he was more than three tenths off Russell’s leading time in seventh.
Max Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar was eight tenths off the pace in eighth, while Racing Bulls duo Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.
Where did Russell’s late pace come from?
Russell backed up his status as pre-season title favourite by winning the opening race in Australia, but has since been surprisingly outshone by his teenage team-mate.
Antonelli’s stunning streak of victories and pace has at times appeared to have dented Russell’s confidence, and that appeared to playing out once more on Saturday in Austria.
After the session’s first qualifying simulations on the soft tyre, Antonelli was four tenths clear of Russell at the top of the timesheet, with the Brit only just ahead of the McLarens and Ferraris.
Russell returned to the garage at this point to make reasonably significant adjustments to his front suspension ahead of a final push on a new set of soft tyres.
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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has downplayed suggestions Max Verstappen could be joining the team sooner rather than later
The initial result was only a minor improvement that left him still almost two tenths back from Antonelli, who surprisingly failed to improve on his earlier time.
Meanwhile, Hamilton suddenly found a big chunk of time to close within 0.77s of Antonelli and announce himself as perhaps the biggest threat to a Mercedes pole.
The seven-time world champion’s sudden surge raised questions over whether Ferrari had turned up the upgraded engine they are running for the first time this weekend.
Then, after a further setup tweak in the pit lane, Russell returned on the now-worn tyres, and produced the best lap of the session, finally appearing to find comfort in the cockpit.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 immediately after the session, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff said he believed his team had now all but optimised the setup of their cars.
“It is always good to be top of the timesheet,” Wolff said.
“I think the car is maybe as good as it gets. It was shuddering but it is now a little bit better with the changes made.
“Now it is gloves off for qualifying.”
Sky Sports F1’s live Austrian GP schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments throughout the years at the Austrian Grand Prix
Saturday June 27
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Austrian GP Qualifying build-up*
3pm: AUSTRIAN GP QUALIFYING*
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday June 28
7.35am: F3 Feature Race
9.05am: F2 Feature Race
10.50am: Porsche Supercup
12.30pm: Austrian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
2pm: THE AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Austrian GP reaction: Chequered Flag
5pm: Ted’s Notebook
*Also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1’s European season continues with the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
