Russell leads Mercedes one-two in final Austrian GP practice

George Russell set the pace in final practice for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, beating Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli by just 0.038s in a closely fought FP3 session at the Red Bull Ring.

Antonelli had looked the benchmark for much of the hour, continuing the strong form he had shown across Friday’s running. The Italian was quickly to the fore, first moving ahead of the field with a lap of 1:07.533 before lowering the target to 1:07.134 on his opening set of soft tyres.

That effort appeared set to remain unbeaten as track temperatures climbed and several drivers struggled to improve on their second sets. However, Russell found more performance late in the session on a used set of softs, posting a 1:07.096 to move to the top of the order for the first time this weekend.

Lewis Hamilton completed the top three for Ferrari, finishing 0.115s off Russell’s best, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris followed in fourth and fifth. Piastri improved on a second push lap to claim fourth, 0.248s from the front, with Norris just 0.016s further back.

Max Verstappen, who was the last driver to leave the garage, ended the session sixth for Red Bull, 0.273s down on Russell. Charles Leclerc was seventh for Ferrari after running wide during his late soft-tyre attempt, leaving him 0.356s adrift.

Isack Hadjar placed eighth in the second Red Bull after early running on the hard tyre, recovering well after losing track time on Friday due to an engine change. Racing Bulls also showed encouraging pace, with Liam Lawson ninth and Arvid Lindblad 10th.

Pierre Gasly was 11th for Alpine ahead of the Audi pair of Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, with Franco Colapinto 14th and Oliver Bearman 15th for Haas.

At the foot of the order, Cadillac endured another difficult session following reliability issues on Friday. Sergio Pérez completed 29 laps but finished 19th, ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas, while Aston Martin drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll completed the classification.

2026 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:07.096 19 232.109
2 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:07.134 0.038 17 231.977
3 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:07.211 0.115 22 231.712
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:07.344 0.248 17 231.254
5 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:07.360 0.264 20 231.199
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:07.369 0.273 16 231.168
7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:07.452 0.356 24 230.884
8 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:07.912 0.816 27 229.320
9 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:08.031 0.935 21 228.919
10 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:08.109 1.013 24 228.657
11 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 1:08.193 1.097 16 228.375
12 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:08.303 1.207 22 228.007
13 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:08.311 1.215 22 227.980
14 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 1:08.394 1.298 18 227.704
15 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:08.529 1.433 19 227.255
16 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:08.707 1.611 15 226.666
17 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:08.843 1.747 27 226.219
18 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:08.992 1.896 25 225.730
19 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 1:09.532 2.436 29 223.977
20 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 1:09.740 2.644 24 223.309
21 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 1:10.421 3.325 21 221.149
22 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 1:10.567 3.471 19 220.692