Mercedes driver George Russell set the fastest time in FP1 at the Red Bull Ring, ahead of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. There were a couple of young, new drivers out there today as well, as F2 driver Alex Dunne took Norris’ place at McLaren, and Dino Beganovic stepped in for Charles Leclerc for Ferrari. Alex Dunne handled the McLaren well, as the rookie placed P4 by the end of the session. The practice was relatively calm, with only a spin from Fernando Alonso and a lock-up from Esteban Ocon triggering yellow flags before both drivers continued on. As previously mentioned, Russell went quickest, with Verstappen and Piastri behind, while Alex Dunne managed an impressive fourth. Pierre Gasly place fifth for Alpine, with Gabriel Bortoleto in the Kick Sauber in sixth and hoping for another points finish this weekend. The Williams pair were behind in seventh and eighth, and Hamilton and Hadjar rounded out the top ten.
Below are the full results of the first practice session in Austria.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:05.542 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.065 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.155 |
| 4 | Alex Dunne | McLaren | +0.224 |
| 5 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +0.238 |
| 6 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber | +0.332 |
| 7 | Alex Albon | Williams | +0.404 |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | +0.475 |
| 9 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.557 |
| 10 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | +0.568 |
| 11 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.588 |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber | +0.598 |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +0.618 |
| 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.628 |
| 15 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +0.647 |
| 16 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +0.704 |
| 17 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | +0.720 |
| 18 | Dino Beganovic | Ferrari | +0.827 |
| 19 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | +0.968 |
| 20 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | +1.196 |
