FP1: Russell sets the pace from Verstappen as Dunne takes impressive fourth during first practice in Austria

George Russell has topped the timesheets during Friday’s opening practice session ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver continuing his run of good form as he led the way from Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.

There were a couple of new faces joining the action for FP1 at the Red Bull Ring as two teams opted to run a rookie; Formula 2 standings leader Alex Dunne stepped into Lando Norris’ McLaren – making him the first Irish driver to take part in an F1 weekend for 22 years as he finished an impressive fourth – while fellow F2 driver Dino Beganovic was at the wheel for Ferrari in place of Charles Leclerc.

Dunne was amongst the first to hit the track when the green light appeared, with the MCL39 sporting aero rakes to kick off a weekend in which several teams have brought upgrades. The Irishman was also the only driver to run the soft tyres during the initial runs, the rest of the pack bolting on the medium and hard compounds.

While Canadian Grand Prix winner Russell had set the early pace during the first quarter of the session, Verstappen did not seem happy in the Red Bull, the Dutchman experiencing a lock-up in the RB21.

Verstappen reported back about the problems on the radio – but on this occasion the World Champion was speaking to Simon Rennie rather than his usual Race Engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, with ‘GP’ taking the weekend off.

Also seemingly struggling in the sister Red Bull was Yuki Tsunoda, who experienced a wide moment of his own as he continues in his mission to get to grips with the car. Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton was informed that his SF-25 had an “issue with the gearbox”, forcing the Briton to return to the pits.

The problems did not look to have ended there for Ferrari, with Beganovic’s car up on the stands in the other side of the garage as the crew removed the floor. Russell, meanwhile, was sitting atop the timesheets, having pumped in a 1m 05.776s after running the soft tyres.

A yellow flag briefly appeared following a spin for Fernando Alonso, with the two-time World Champion running onto the grass thanks to a moment at the final corner. “That was the worst out-lap we can do – good to do it in FP1!” the Aston Martin driver commented.

As the majority of the field switched to the soft tyres and the times started to tumble – with Ferrari also getting both cars back out on track – Esteban Ocon sparked another yellow flag after locking up and going straight on at Turn 1. The Haas driver was able to rejoin, albeit with a flat spot on his front left tyre.

With Russell still leading the way from Verstappen and Piastri as the session entered its final quarter, Dunne caught the eye by going fourth fastest, his time just seven-hundredths away from Piastri’s.

“A few small raindrops,” Russell reported as the last 10 minutes of FP1 approached, with clouds hovering above the Red Bull Ring. But questions over the weather did not prevent the Silver Arrows driver from maintaining his place at the top of the timesheets, having set the pace on a 1m 05.542s.

Verstappen – who has won at this track a record four times – was 0.065s adrift in P2, while Piastri and Dunne held third and fourth for McLaren ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in fifth. Gabriel Bortoleto slotted into an impressive sixth for Kick Sauber, while the Williams pair of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, Hamilton and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar completed the top 10.

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli claimed 11th – off the back of completing his school exams – ahead of Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg (12th), Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (13th), Alonso (14th) and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson (15th). Franco Colapinto put his Alpine into P16, while Tsunoda, Beganovic, Ocon and Haas’ Ollie Bearman classified P17 through to P20 respectively.

The drivers and teams will now regroup in the paddock to examine their data and prepare for Friday’s second Free Practice session, which is due to get underway at 1700 local time.