Practice 1 Report - Verstappen fastest

Max Verstappen
© Red Bull

Max Verstappen topped the timesheets in the only practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix, overcoming an early engine shutdown that threatened to derail his session. The Dutch driver’s session took a dramatic turn 32 minutes in when his RB20 suffered an engine fault, forcing him to park by the pit wall and triggering a red flag.

Verstappen initially feared a repeat of the Montreal engine problem, exclaiming, “It’s the same engine fault.” However, the issue was quickly diagnosed as an electronic glitch, allowing him to return to the track shortly after the session resumed. He showcased his typical prowess by setting the fastest time with a lap of 1:04.712, much to the relief of the Red Bull garage.

Red Bull opted for a unique strategy, running Medium tyres while rivals Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren stuck with Hards. This approach paid off for Verstappen, who executed a stellar low-fuel lap at the end of the session. In contrast, his teammate Sergio Pérez struggled with the balance of his RB20, finishing a disappointing P12 with a lap time of 1:05.839, over a second slower than Verstappen.

Mercedes impressed with their pace on the Hard tyres. Lewis Hamilton finished fifth with a lap of 1:05.224, without switching to Softs, completing 39 laps on the same set of Hards, including a race simulation of 22 laps. George Russell, who ended up in ninth, planned a late low-fuel run on Softs but was impeded by Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and had to abort, setting his best time of 1:05.413 on Hards. Their competitive times on the harder compound indicate Mercedes could be strong contenders in qualifying.

Ferrari entered the weekend with high hopes but found themselves needing to play catch-up. Charles Leclerc managed to be marginally quicker than teammate Carlos Sainz on both tyre compounds, but his best time of 1:05.082 was still 0.37 seconds adrift of Verstappen’s. Sainz was just under 0.1 seconds behind Leclerc with a time of 1:05.179, placing the Ferraris third and fourth but highlighting a significant gap to close on the short Red Bull Ring circuit.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri demonstrated that the team could be a force to reckon with, setting the second-fastest time of 1:05.013. However, he was already more than 0.3 seconds behind Verstappen. Lando Norris, who ran a new front wing for most of the session, seemed poised to match Verstappen’s pace but went off track in Turn 4 during his final attempt, resulting in a best time of 1:05.287, leaving his full potential unclear.

The top ten was rounded out by Esteban Ocon with a lap of 1:05.295, Lance Stroll at 1:05.337, Yuki Tsunoda at 1:05.341, and Fernando Alonso at 1:05.387. Tsunoda reported issues with his steering column and requested a replacement before the sprint shootout.

This session also saw the introduction of a new track limits checking system, aimed at reducing the number of penalties issued for exceeding track boundaries. The initial feedback was positive, with drivers noting the stepped kerbs helped them sense when they were about to breach limits. However, the real test of the system will come during the competitive sprint shootout.

As teams head into qualifying, Red Bull’s strategic differences, Mercedes’ surprising pace on harder tyres, and the mixed performances from Ferrari and McLaren set the stage for an exciting and unpredictable Austrian Grand Prix weekend.