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Kim Antonelli led George Russell in a Mercedes one-two in first practice at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Italy’s Russell leads by just 0.04 seconds, while Oscar Piastre’s McLaren is third by just 0.117 seconds. Teammate Lando Norris was seventh fastest after missing three-quarters of the session with hydraulic problems.
Max Verstappen, who has significant aerodynamic improvements on the Red Bull, was fourth by 0.281s from Antonelli.
Lewis Hamilton, winner of the last Spanish race and with an improved Ferrari engine, was 0.665 seconds off the pace. The seven-time champion didn’t sound happy with his car in a brief radio broadcast.
Briton Arvid Lindblad was sixth in Racing Bulls, and eighth behind Norris Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, ahead of Swede Dino Beganovic in Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
England’s Oliver Berman finished top 10 in Haas.
The weekend could be crucial for Ferrari in terms of whether or not they can continue their challenge to Mercedes.
The team cautioned that the engine upgrade launched in Austria was not enough to close the gap with Mercedes power.
But the question is whether the aerodynamic developments introduced in Spain will be enough to allow them to compete with Mercedes at such a power-sensitive circuit, where they are yet to compete this season.
McLaren chose not to run the proposed new rear wing after deciding it needed more preparation work.
The wing is in a style introduced by Ferrari and Red Bull, which means that instead of flipping forward with the help of a traditional drag reduction system (DRS), it rotates around the axis and opens into a straight line mode.
