Austrian Grand Prix FP3: George Russell pips Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton bounces back, Red Bull slightly improve
F1 NewsSaturday, 27 June 2026 at 13:30
George Russell responded to his teammate Kimi Antonelli and topped the final practice session for the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton bounced back taking third fastest.
Antonelli seemed to be on his way to top the final practice, but he failed to improve in the final qualifying runs as his teammate found some pace and manage to go fastest with a lap time and 1:07.096 which was just 0.038s faster than the 2026 Formula 1 Championship leader.
And while McLaren came closest to McLaren on Friday, it was Hamilton and Ferrari who turned things around as the seven-time F1 Champion finished the session third, 0.115s off the pace.
McLaren, on the other hand, were third and fourth with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris respectively.
Max Verstappen was fifth fastest in the Red Bull Racing, but the gap was considerably smaller compared to Friday. He was 0.273s down on Russell\s best time and ahead of Charles Leclerc in sixth.
Isack Hadjar was over eighth tenths off the top time in seventh as Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad were ninth and tenth respectively.
Buildup towards FP3
Mercedes and Antonelli emerged as the package to beat after Friday's running at the Red Bull Ring with McLaren emerging as the closest challengers.
Antonelli's outright pace meant he was fastest in FP2 by over two tenths from the closest McLaren, but another worrying sign was the Italian's race pace which was over two tenths clear of that of the Papaya cars who where not kind to their tyres as they pace dropped off after the lap count increased.
Russell's race pace was close to Antonelli but the Briton struggled in qualifying simulations, six tenths off the pace.
It wasn't a great Friday for Ferrari with their upgrades engine as their Barcelona pace seemed to be a distant memory has Hamilton in the leading Red car was half a second off the pace both in qualifying and race trim.
Another disappointment was Red Bull Racing who have brought the biggest upgrade this weekend, but never seemed able to get it in the proper setup window with Verstappen not happy with the balance and the grip.
And while the Dutchman was over half a second off the pace in qualifying trim, the deficit to Mercedes dropped in race mode to a little over two tenths.
So can Mercedes and Antonelli maintain their advantage? Can Russell catch up with his teammate?
What of Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull Racing? Can some work overnight bring them back into contention?
FP3 Session highlights
Clear and hot conditions remained in control over the Red Bull Ring as FP3 was given the green light with ambient temperatures at 30 degrees Celsius while the Pirelli rubber had to deal for a 48-degree track surface.
And while the conditions were hot, most of the teams and drivers were chilled, not in a hurry to get the action started.
That was not the case for Sergio Perez though who was in a hurry to get his session going after suffering from technical issues on Friday compromising both his sessions.
🟢 GREEN LIGHT 🟢
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 27, 2026
We are GO for FP3 with Sergio Perez heading out first 💪#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/on3r2FV5iy
Six minutes into the session and Perez remained the sole driver out having the Red Bull Ring all to himself.
The Mexican had a moment into Turn 1, double locking the front tyres and running wide, bouncing off the kerbs into the run-off area.
Screeching through the braking zone! 🤯
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 27, 2026
A double front lock-up for Sergio Perez into Turn 1 early on in FP3 💨#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/YEDEMWv4Ks
Ten minutes into the session Colapinto decided to join the #11 Cadillac out on track, as Nico Hulkenberg and Hadjar followed suit.
20 minutes into the session, the session was fully own with all drivers out on track. The Soft tyre was the predominant compound of choice.
Norris complained about a broken mirror while Verstappen complained about interference in the earplugs asking to change them. Piastri, on the other hand, complained about the seat of his McLaren.
Into P2 goes Max Verstappen for a brief moment 😮💨
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 27, 2026
It's a seemingly better start to the day for the Red Bull driver, despite Verstappen asking for a change to his earplugs 👀#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/w99jAv1IB0
Carlos Sainz had a wobble into Turn 9 and took to the run-off area while Hamilton hand a moment at Turn 3.
Russell complained about straight line braking on his front axel just after locking up going into Turn 3.
Fernando Alonso told his team he couldn't turn the car with something wrong at the front.
Towards the final 15 minutes of the session, the teams did some changes on their cars before going out for a final qualifying simulation.
Sainz dives out of the way of Lawson at Turn 9, taking to the run-off 💨
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 27, 2026
The Williams driver had earlier been given a warning for driving too slowly ⚠️#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/TvZsnSulNk
Hulkenberg had a moment at Turn 9 while Leclerc went deep into the run-off area at Turn 3 which is what also happened to Hadjar.
Turn 3 has been tricky for the drivers to nail over the weekend so far.
Lindblad said he lacked confidence with his brakes as his car was pulling under braking.
Leclerc became the second driver to report a broken mirror after Norris had the same issue.
Hamilton had a huge lockup in Turn 3 but also asked his team to check the gearbox that seemed to be shifting while he was in anti-stall.
The session ended with practice starts.
Austrian Grand Prix FP3 Classification
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