Austrian Grand Prix FP2: Kimi Antonelli in control, George Russell drops, McLaren chasing
F1 NewsFriday, 26 June 2026 at 18:00
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli maintained his control over proceedings at the Red Bull Ring and topped FP2 for the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix as teammate George Russell seemed to struggle.
The 2026 Formula 1 Championship leader also led in FP1, but by less than a tenth from Russell and a tenth from McLaren's Oscar Piastri, but managed to get that gap up in FP2.
Antonelli posted a fastest lap of 1:07.014 which was 0.237s faster than Piastri who was second this time with Norris a further 0.088s behind in third.
Next came Max Verstappen, fourth fastest but 0.550s off the pace, the four-time F1 Champion not enjoying a clean session with issues with his seat and then power delivery issues throughout the session.
Lewis Hamilton was fifth fastest, almost six tenths off the pace while Russell followed in sixth over six tenths off the pace.
Isack Hadjar was seventh fastest in the other Red Bull and also struggling with power issues and was followed by Charles Leclerc who was eighth in the Ferrari.
The Monegasque sat out FP1 with Dino Beganovic taking over his SF-26, and was 0.841s off the pace.
Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto, who both also missed out on FP1, were ninth and tenth respectively.
Buildup towards FP2
Mercedes set the pace in the first practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix, but their advantage was not more the one tenth to McLaren who emerged as their main challengers.
With nothing to choose between Antonelli and Russell, Piastri was the best of the rest chasing by a tenth of a second.
McLaren were supposed to trial their trick rear wing this weekend but opted against
Hamilton did not get into the zone in FP1 while Red Bull Racing, with a major upgrade on their RB22, suffered from reliability issues which cut the running time for both Verstappen and Hadjar, the latter affected more and requiring a power unit change.
Norris also suffered from a hydraulic issue which cut his session down to 15 minutes but showed some decent pace out of the box.
Several drivers sat out FP1 as rookies took over their cars so we will have the full lineup in action in FP2.
FP2 Session Highlights
The session started in clear conditions with track temperatures recording 49 degrees Celsius with air temperature up to 32 degrees.
Russell's car was up on the stands with the floor off with a mechanic seated in the Briton's seat working on it.
The engine cover was also off the car of Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls garage.
Nico Hulkenberg and Bortoleto were the first drivers to head out on track in their Audis. Hulkenberg soon ran wide at Turn 1 on his first lap.
Alex Albon then reported "no power" and his team asked him to box.
"I've got no power" 😢
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 26, 2026
Alex Albon reports a technical issue with his Williams, and thankfully gets back to the garage #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/RoV6gqraot
Verstappen soon complained about his seat position saying it was completely different and that he was laying down more. He then asked the team to box to sort out his seat.
Valtteri Bottas complained about something in this cockpit banging on his elbow, but Sergio Perez radioed that he is having the same issue that hit him in FP1.
The team asked him to get the car slowly back into the pits but he couldn't make it and parked it on the side of the track bringing out the Virtual Safety Car (VSC).
⚠️ VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR ⚠️
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 26, 2026
Sergio Perez has come to a stop on track in FP2 #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/DZmCMhjQ3C
With the VSC still on, Mercedes finally sent Russell on his way, with less than 45 minutes remaining on the clock.
Red Bull also finishing looking into Verstappen's seat and the Dutchman was soon back in the cockpit and heading out on track with the VSC now lifted.
Verstappen and Russell soon found themselves having a mini race as the former joined the track and came upon the Mercedes.
🟢 GREEN FLAG 🟢
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 26, 2026
We're back to Green Flag conditions with 44 minutes to go in this session! 💪#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/YobL5heYhh
Franco Colapinto had a moment at the exit of Turn 6 as he dipped a wheel in the gravel, his car snapping, but he managed to hold it.
Norris then ran deep and wide at Turn 3 and went through the run-off area and went on. Moment later, he spun at the same corner.
A spin for Lando Norris at Turn 3! 😵💫
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 26, 2026
The McLaren driver soon rejoins the track and continues 👀#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/QUndGNWQTY
Towards the second half of the session, the Soft tyres were bolted on the cars for some qualifying runs.
Bottas reported smoke in the cockpit of his Cadillac as it appeared the front of his floor caught fire. Wrong ride height?
However, that didn't affect the session as the Finn managed to get his car back to the garage.
Verstappen has been complaining about rear locking on his RB22.
📻 "There's smoke in the cockpit"
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 26, 2026
The Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas limps back to the pits with the front of the floor dragging along the ground 🤯 #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/bNUy3UsOuK
Hamilton had a moment at Turn 3, locked up and had an excursion in the run-off area before rejoining the track.
Norris also had a moment over the kerbs at Turn 7 at high speed, but managed to save it.
Hadjar had a snap at Turn 3 while Verstappen complained the revs were dropping on his engine at the same corner even when on a push lap.
In the final 15 minutes, the teams reverted to Medium tyres and went out for some data collection on long runs.
Verstappen had another moment in the final corner and radioed complaining about the lag in his engine.
Hadjar was also complaining about the power delivery on his RB22.
"I need the car to... give me power man!" 😳
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 26, 2026
Hadjar is frustrated at how FP2 is going at Red Bull, with both Isack and Max Verstappen struggling #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/vOdk8e18zJ
Several driver had off moments over the course of their long runs but no one crashed thankfully.
The session was concluded with practice starts which was not possible in FP1 due to the Red flag caused by Perez breaking down.
Austrian Grand Prix FP2 Classification
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