2026 Austrian GP FP3 Results: Russell Tops Final Practice at the Red Bull Ring
George Russell set the pace in Free Practice 3 at the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix, posting a 1:07.096 to edge Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli by 0.038 seconds. Lewis Hamilton was third for Ferrari, with the McLarens of Piastri and Norris fourth and fifth. Max Verstappen was sixth. Practice pace is indicative, not predictive of qualifying or race performance.
Session snapshot
George Russell ended the third and final practice session of the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix weekend on top, pipping team-mate Kimi Antonelli during the closing stages to go fastest.
It was the first time Russell had been ahead of Antonelli all weekend, with the Briton improving late in the session on a set of soft tyres that had already completed several laps. [1]
On another hot day at the Red Bull Ring, air temperatures reached 31 degrees Celsius at the beginning of FP3, and it was not until around 10 minutes into the hour that Sergio Perez had some company on the circuit. [1] After a sluggish start to proceedings in the oppressive Styrian heat, reigning world champion Lando Norris got the qualifying simulations underway with a 1:07.832 effort after 15 minutes. [3]
Top ten classification
The official FP3 classification from the Red Bull Ring [6]:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Best Lap | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:07.096 | , |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:07.134 | +0.038s |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:07.211 | +0.115s |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:07.344 | +0.248s |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:07.360 | +0.264s |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:07.369 | +0.273s |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:07.452 | +0.356s |
| 8 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 1:07.912 | +0.816s |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:08.031 | +0.935s |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:08.109 | +1.013s |
The margins at the front remained tight, with the top six separated by less than three tenths of a second. [4]
How the session unfolded
Norris's McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri fared better than Norris early on and was just half a tenth off him until championship leader Antonelli put Mercedes on top with a 1:07.533s lap. [3] As the majority of the frontrunners bolted on a new set of soft tyres, all eyes were on whether anybody could topple Antonelli; Hamilton initially went quickest in the first sector but ultimately could not match the pace, while Leclerc suffered a lock-up into Turn 3. Antonelli did not improve on his previous effort, but Russell outpaced him to take the top slot. [1]
Verstappen ended the session sixth for Red Bull Racing, 0.273 seconds off the pace, after a delayed start to his programme; he was the final driver to appear on track, but still put himself close to the leading group. [4] Red Bull appeared to be running different programmes with their drivers, Isack Hadjar having spent many laps on the hard tyre while Verstappen continued on the soft. [1]
Leclerc was seventh in the second Ferrari, 0.356 seconds away from Russell, after running wide during one of his laps. [4] Pierre Gasly classified 11th for Alpine, followed by the Audis of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto in the sister Alpine and the Haas duo of Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon; the Williams pair of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon took P17 and P18, the Cadillacs of Perez and Bottas P19 and P20, and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll rounded out the order in P21 and P22. [1]
There were further troubles for Carlos Sainz, who slid off track entering the final corner amid increasingly warm conditions. [1] No red flags were shown during the hour; the session ran uninterrupted to the chequered flag.
Context: the weekend so far
Kimi Antonelli had topped both FP1 and FP2, setting a best time of 1:07.796 in the opening session before lowering his benchmark to 1:07.014 in the afternoon. [5] The McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were Antonelli's closest challengers in FP2, as Russell struggled with understeer on his qualifying simulation, while Ferrari had a tough day, looking off the pace on both short and long runs. [10]
Heading into the Austrian weekend, Antonelli led the championship by 41 points after a remarkable early-season campaign, making him the man to beat at the Red Bull Ring. [7] Barcelona had provided the Italian with his first significant setback of 2026, when a technical failure forced him into retirement. [7]
The FIA declared a Heat Hazard for the weekend, meaning teams had to manage the conditions carefully as track temperatures rose. [8] The heat made tyre preparation more difficult, while traffic was also a factor on one of the shortest laps of the season. [8]
The qualifying picture
:::analysis Russell's late improvement in FP3 gave Mercedes an internal split at the top of the timing sheets for the first time all weekend, setting up a genuine intra-team battle for pole. Antonelli had been quicker for the bulk of Friday's running, but the gap between the two Silver Arrows cars was just 38 thousandths after FP3, a margin that could flip either way under fresh rubber in a single qualifying lap at the Red Bull Ring.
Hamilton's P3 gave Ferrari a more credible reference heading into the shootout than Friday's P5 suggested. Leclerc's FP3 remained messy, however, and the gap between the two Ferrari drivers in practice pointed to unfinished set-up business before qualifying began.
McLaren's pair covered the same P4/P5 ground as they had on Friday afternoon, consistent but not yet at Mercedes pace on a single lap. The three-tenths gap from Norris to Russell represented a meaningful deficit on a circuit where the lap is barely over a minute long. Verstappen, sixth after appearing last on track, was within the same three-tenths window, making the front of the qualifying order feel genuinely open.
The heat was a wild card: track temperatures that climbed above 50°C across the weekend brought sliding, lock-ups and track-limits violations throughout practice. Qualifying, run later in the day when conditions cooled somewhat, carried an additional dimension around tyre preparation and the timing of push laps.
As always, practice pace is indicative, not predictive. Session order can shift substantially when teams switch to a focused single-lap qualifying trim. :::
Related reading
- [1]FP3: George Russell goes fastest from Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton in final Austria practice (formula1). Accessed 2026-06-28.
- [2]F1 Austrian GP 2026 practice results (the-race). Accessed 2026-06-28.
- [3]F1 Austrian GP: George Russell leads Mercedes 1-2 in hot FP3 (motorsport). Accessed 2026-06-28.
- [4]FP3 Results Today: Austrian GP 2026 Practice 3 Times (total-motorsport). Accessed 2026-06-28.
- [5]2026 F1 Austrian Grand Prix - Free Practice 3 results (racingnews365). Accessed 2026-06-28.
- [6]2026 F1 Austrian GP FP3 classification: Complete results before qualifying (scuderiafans). Accessed 2026-06-28.
- [7]2026 Austrian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners (formulaonehistory). Accessed 2026-06-28.
- [8]F1 Austrian GP: Saturday schedule, weather forecast at the Red Bull Ring, and how to watch (motorsport-saturday). Accessed 2026-06-28.
- [9]Russell Beats Antonelli In Austrian GP FP3 (f1-fansite). Accessed 2026-06-28.
- [10]2026 F1 Austrian GP | FP3 results (pitdebrief). Accessed 2026-06-28.
- [11]Austrian GP: Kimi Antonelli tops first practice as Max Verstappen, Isack Hadjar, Lando Norris suffer unreliability issues (skysports). Accessed 2026-06-28.