Hello and welcome to this Total Motorsport live blog for Free Practice 2 at the F1 2025 Austrian GP from Spielberg, as Formula 1 returns to the dramatic backdrop of the Styrian hills.
The Red Bull Ring, with its unique blend of high-speed straights and tight corners, always delivers drama—especially as drivers and teams prepare for the crucial qualifying session on Saturday.
Total-Motorsport.com’s F1 2025 Austrian GP live updates for Free Practice 2 will keep you updated with every headline, sector time, and technical twist. Stay tuned for expert insight and up-to-the-minute coverage direct from the Red Bull Ring.
F1 2025 Austrian GP Free Practice 2: Highlights and reaction
FP2 timings
1 Norris 1:04.580
2 Piastri +0.157
3 Verstappen +0.318
4 Stroll +0.442
5 Leclerc +0.610
6 Russell +0.649
7 Tsunoda +0.712
8 Bortoleto +0.831
9 Alonso +0.877
10 Hamilton 0.931
FP2: CHECKERED FLAG
Piastri is the only driver not on track towards the end of the session, and that’s it! The checkered flag is out and McLaren are quickest.
Norris sends a message of his own to Piastri, going marginally quicker than his garagemate.
More from the Azerbaijan GP
Catch up with Total Motorsport’s latest Azerbaijan GP coverage, including George Russell’s dramatic Baku victory, the full race classification, the fastest lap result, and the Driver of the Day from the 2026 race.
Max competing at the front
Verstappen, who is matching the McLarens on the long-run data, now says he’s struggling on the fronts and comes into the pits for a tyre change.
Only three minutes left now.
Where is the love?
Unlike his Sauber team-mate, Nico Hulkenberg channels his inner Black Eyed Peas as he complains that he’s not “feeling the love” in terms of tyre grip.
Maybe if will.i.am turns up on Sunday, we’ll get our answer.
10 MINS TO GO
A lot of drivers now switching to their race simulation runs, with Hamilton on the soft and Bortoleto running the medium.
Not much change as far as the timing sheet is concerned.
20 MINS TO GO
Verstappen has closed the gap on the McLarens and moves into third, but the Dutchman is still three tenths off the pace.
Gabriel Bortoleto is up to eighth, a decent lap from the Sauber rookie.
Hamilton under investigation
The stewards have just confirmed that they will investigate the incident between Hamilton and Antonelli after the session.
It’s standard procedure for drivers to avoid punishment for impeding in practice as it doesn’t affect the race, but the Briton could face a reprimand if found to be have been at fault.
Running order
We’re halfway through the session and here’s how the top 10 looks.
1 Norris 1:04.580
2 Piastri
3 Stroll
4 Russell
5 Tsunoda
6 Hamilton
7 Antonelli
8 Hadjar
9 Alonso
10 Verstappen
McLaren flex with fine laps
Now the times are starting to tumble. Piastri knocks in a corker – nearly half a second quicker than Russell.
But Norris, who missed FP1 remember, goes purple in all three sectors and has 1.5 tenths on his team-mate.
40 MINS TO GO
Russell and Verstappen have moved onto the soft tyre for their low fuel runs but still can’t surpass Norris’ time on the medium.
No confirmation if those were used or new sets, though.
Hamilton and Antonelli nearly collide!
Wow. A very, very close shave just now at Turn 4 as Hamilton veers over to the racing line, forcing Antonelli to take evasive action off to the side. Understandably, the Italian is furious and takes to the radio to complain:
Antonelli: “What are these guys doing? Honestly!”
In fairness, the seven-time world champion knew that was his error and held up an apologetic hand to the 18-year-old as he passed.
Hamilton: “I couldn’t see Antonelli at all.”
Ferrari issues continue
Lando Norris sets the fastest time of the day with a 1:05.538 and on third push lap on the medium tyre.
But things aren’t going well for Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton says he has “no pace”, while Charles Leclerc has a moment in the gravel and crawls back to the pits.
Lawson update
Speaking from the pitwall to Sky Sports F1, Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies says they’ve identified the issue for Liam Lawson: “We’ve found what it is, but we’ll only know [it’s fixed] when the car is about to go out now.”
McLaren duo dial in
Oscar Piastri improves his time by half a second and goes marginally quicker than the two Mercedes. It’s getting quite busy out on track now and some drivers are tripping over each other.
Lando Norris is first into the 1:05s and goes quickest.
Mercedes set early pace
Kimi Antonelli is top of the timings with a 1:06.202 on the medium tyre and is quickly joined by George Russell.
So far, so good for Mercedes, but it’s early days.
Lawson reports issue
Liam Lawson has already been on the radio and says “something isn’t right” with his steering, before the Kiwi completely locks up the right front tyre.
Not an ideal start for the Racing Bulls.
FP2 is underway!
The green light flashes and we’ve got cars on the track straight away.
The Alpine of Franco Colapinto drives out for get a feel for the conditions.
Weather update
A few minutes to go until the start of FP2, so let’s look at the weather.
Conditions are always changing high up in the Styrian hills, and despite the heat, there were a few drops of rain reported at the end of FP1.
Will we get some wet-weather running over the next hour? The forecast is predicting the track to stay dry, but you never know…
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to Total Motorsport’s coverage of the Austrian Grand Prix second free practice session.
All 20 drivers are climbing back into the seat of their cars after an intriguing FP1, where George Russell went fastest for Mercedes. But the biggest story of that session was Alex Dunne in the McLaren finishing fourth-fastest and less than a tenth behind Oscar Piastri.
Lando Norris gets his car back for FP2 and is under a bit more pressure to impress…
Where to Watch 2025 Austrian GP FP2?
For fans in the United States, Free Practice 2 will be shown live on ESPN3, with additional streaming coverage via ESPN Deportes for Spanish-language viewers.
In the UK, all sessions, including FP2, are exclusively live on Sky Sports F1, with Channel 4 providing extended highlights later in the weekend. Australian viewers can watch the action unfold on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports, with replays on Foxtel.
What Time Is FP2 at the 2025 Austrian GP?
Free Practice 2 for the 2025 Austrian GP begins at 17:00 local time (CEST) on Friday in Spielberg. Which means a late afternoon 16:00 start for those in the UK. In the USA, FP2 begins at 11:00 ET, which is an early 8:00 PT start. In Australia, the FP2 session in Austria begins at 1:00 in the early hours of Saturday morning.
- UK: 16:00–17:00 BST (Friday)
- USA (Eastern): 11:00–12:00 ET (Friday)
- USA (Pacific): 08:00–09:00 PT (Friday)
- Australia: 01:00–02:00 AEST (Saturday)
