F1 Austrian GP: George Russell fastest in FP1 as Alex…

George Russell followed up on his Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix victory by setting the pace in the first free practice session for the Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring.

Looking to build on his success in Montreal, Russell recorded a lap of 1m05.542s to put his Mercedes top of the times ahead of rival Max Verstappen, who was 0.065s adrift.

Russell reported raindrops towards the end of the hour-long session in the Styrian mountains and that, coupled with traffic over the short lap, meant no-one could challenge the Briton’s time late on.

World championship leader Oscar Piastri was third fastest, with McLaren team-mate Lando Norris watching on from the pitwall as Irishman Alex Dunne participated in his first F1 FP1 session.

Dunne sits top of the F2 driver standings and impressed on his F1 debut, ending the session in fourth and just 0.069s behind Piastri.

“I want to say a massive thank you for making a little boy’s dream come true, this is definitely the best day of my life, and thanks to Lando as well for trusting me with this car,” Dunne said over the team radio at the end of the session.

Alexander Dunne, McLaren (Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images)

The other rookie running in FP1 was Dino Beganovic, taking over the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc for what was another largely frustrating session for the Scuderia.

Lewis Hamilton’s running was compromised by a gearbox issue, and he was ninth overall, with Beganovic down in 18th as only the Haas pair of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman set slower times.

Another world champion had issues, Fernando Alonso bemoaning the “worst out-lap we could do,” as he spun his Aston Martin at the final corner, asking too much from the soft tyres.

Pierre Gasly was up in fifth for Alpine with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto catching the eye up in sixth, ahead of the Williams duo of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz and then Hamilton, while Isack Hadjar rounded out the top 10.

F1 Austrian Grand Prix - FP1 results

1 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	G. Russell Mercedes	63	Mercedes	Mercedes	34	1'05.542		S	237.173
2	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1	Red Bull	Red Bull	30	+0.065 1'05.607	0.065	S	236.938
3	O. Piastri McLaren	81	McLaren	Mercedes	33	+0.155 1'05.697	0.090	S	236.613
4	A. Dunne McLaren	89	McLaren	Mercedes	29	+0.224 1'05.766	0.069	S	236.365
5	P. Gasly Alpine	10	Alpine	Renault	34	+0.238 1'05.780	0.014	S	236.314
6	G. Bortoleto Sauber	5	Sauber	Ferrari	35	+0.332 1'05.874	0.094	S	235.977
7	A. Albon Williams	23	Williams	Mercedes	35	+0.404 1'05.946	0.072	S	235.720
8	C. Sainz Williams	55	Williams	Mercedes	33	+0.475 1'06.017	0.071	M	235.466
9	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44	Ferrari	Ferrari	20	+0.557 1'06.099	0.082	S	235.174
10	I. Hadjar Racing Bulls	6	RB	Honda	33	+0.568 1'06.110	0.011	S	235.135
11	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12	Mercedes	Mercedes	35	+0.588 1'06.130	0.020	S	235.064
12	N. Hulkenberg Sauber	27	Sauber	Ferrari	32	+0.598 1'06.140	0.010	S	235.028
13	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18	Aston Martin	Mercedes	32	+0.618 1'06.160	0.020	S	234.957
14	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14	Aston Martin	Mercedes	32	+0.628 1'06.170	0.010	S	234.922
15	L. Lawson Racing Bulls	30	RB	Honda	34	+0.647 1'06.189	0.019	S	234.854
16	F. Colapinto Alpine	43	Alpine	Renault	34	+0.704 1'06.246	0.057	S	234.652
17	Y. Tsunoda Red Bull Racing	22	Red Bull	Red Bull	30	+0.720 1'06.262	0.016	S	234.595
18	D. Beganovic Ferrari	38	Ferrari	Ferrari	32	+0.827 1'06.369	0.107	S	234.217
19	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31	Haas	Ferrari	32	+0.968 1'06.510	0.141	S	233.721
20	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87	Haas	Ferrari	30	+1.196 1'06.738	0.228	S	232.922
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