It is qualifying day at the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix.
Friday’s pair of practice sessions offered a slight variation on a somewhat consistent theme from this season: A strong start from McLaren. While Lando Norris sat out the first practice session in favor of young Alex Dunne they still put both cars in the top four in FP1, with Oscar Piastri posting the third-fastest time in the session and Dunne just behind him in fourth.
Norris slid back into the upgraded MCL39 for FP2 and went straight to the top of the timing sheets, with teammate and Drivers’ Championship leader Piastri right behind him in FP2.
However, we have seen this before during the 2025 campaign — a strong start from McLaren only for a rival to take pole position on Saturday. Two drivers who have accomplished that feat recently, George Russell and Max Verstappen, are certainly lurking. Verstappen was second in FP1 and third in FP2, and Russell topped the timing sheets during Friday’s first practice session.
As is often the case, we’ll have all of the qualifying action covered for you throughout the day on Saturday, including live coverage of the qualifying hour. So check back early and often, as the session gets underway at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
Note: All updates are in Eastern time.
FP3 Notes
9:41: Norris again topped the timing sheets in FP3, ahead of Piastri and Verstappen. But we have seen this before, with the McLaren driver leading the way up until Q3, where he opens the door for one of his rivals to nip him for pole position.
Will that happen again, or is this going to be Norris’ day?
