Kimi Antonelli made Austrian GP Friday look almost insultingly easy. The championship leader topped both practice sessions at the Red Bull Ring, finishing FP2 with a 1m07.014s that nobody could touch. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen rolled in fourth, half a second back, complaining about his seat. Red Bull brought a seven-part upgrade package to their home race. You would not have guessed it.
Antonelli Does It Again
For the second session in a row, Antonelli was the class of the field. Mercedes may have had a difficult Barcelona weekend, including the FIA-mandated diffuser change, but none of that appeared to matter on the searing asphalt of Spielberg. The Italian led on mediums, then led on softs, improving to a 1m07.014s with 20 minutes remaining. No one came close. Oscar Piastri finished second, 0.237s adrift, with Lando Norris a further tenth back in third. McLaren looked genuinely quick, which makes the gap to Antonelli all the more striking.
Verstappen: The Seat, the Car, the Upgrade
Red Bull’s big Austria push hit some turbulence early. Verstappen stopped in the pits to have his seat repositioned after complaining it felt completely wrong. He was back out, but the problems were not finished. Both he and Isack Hadjar reported an RPM drop at Turn 3 throughout the session, making the Red Bull RB22 genuinely unpleasant to drive at a critical point on the lap. Verstappen eventually salvaged fourth, 0.550s down. Hadjar was seventh. That is not the upgrade narrative Red Bull was hoping to write at their home circuit.
Cadillac: A Day to Forget
If Red Bull had a difficult afternoon, Cadillac had a disaster. Sergio Perez stopped on track at Turn 6 for the second time on Friday, triggering a Virtual Safety Car despite a between-session ECU swap. Shortly after, Valtteri Bottas limped back to the pits with his floor dragging along the track surface, sparks flying and a small fire breaking out underneath the car. Neither driver returned to the circuit. Eight laps between the two of them in FP2. On a weekend they brought a significant upgrade package. Quite the achievement.
Russell Struggles, Ferrari Quiet
George Russell could only manage sixth, 0.623s behind his team-mate. Expert observers noted he appeared to be fighting understeer through the middle sector on his hot laps. Lewis Hamilton was fifth for Ferrari, solid enough, while Charles Leclerc returned from his FP1 rookie duty stint and could only manage eighth, 0.841s off the pace.
FP3 and qualifying on Saturday will tell a more complete story. But right now, Antonelli looks ominously comfortable, Red Bull’s upgrade has questions to answer, and Cadillac needs a miracle before the lights go out on Sunday. Mercedes came here to bounce back, and so far, that is exactly what they are doing.
