Friday’s 2025 Austrian Grand Prix FP2 session saw Lando Norris put his name at the top of the timesheets, underlining McLaren’s threat with a commanding performance ahead of Oscar Piastri and local favourite Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
The session began under increasingly overcast skies, but that did nothing to slow the action. Following George Russell’s morning effort for Mercedes in FP1, all eyes were on how the field would react for the second hour of running. As soon as the pit exit light turned green, Norris wasted no time, laying down a quick lap on medium tyres and signalling his intent to bounce back after sitting out FP1.
McLaren’s young Irish star Alex Dunne had impressed in that opening session, taking over Norris’ car and delivering a fourth-quickest time—his F1 debut attracting plenty of paddock buzz.
But by FP2 at the Austrian GP, the familiar orange helmet was back in the cockpit, and Norris soon went quickest, first on mediums, then on soft tyres, eventually stopping the clock at 1m 04.580s. That time was 0.157s clear of Piastri, with Verstappen a further tenth and a half adrift in third.
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Charles Leclerc returned to the track after missing FP1 but suffered a trip through the gravel at Turn 6 at the Red Bull Ring. At the same corner, Kimi Antonelli narrowly avoided a slow-moving Lewis Hamilton, whose Ferrari suffered more frustration after gearbox issues in the morning.
Lance Stroll continued his comeback from injury, placing his Aston Martin in an impressive fourth, less than half a second off Norris’ benchmark. George Russell managed sixth in the session, a couple of tenths off his FP1 pace, but still very much in the hunt.
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Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda took seventh, keeping close to teammate Verstappen, while rookie Gabriel Bortoleto continued to catch the eye for Sauber, placing eighth ahead of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton—the latter again expressing frustration over the radio, “for some reason I’ve just got no pace, mate.”
Outside the top ten, Antonelli and the Racing Bulls duo of Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar found themselves grappling with setup and traffic issues. Lawson’s car, in particular, suffered a steering glitch, forcing an early return to the garage. Lower down, Pierre Gasly was first of those more than a second off Norris’ pace, while Nico Hulkenberg endured a quiet session for Sauber.
As practice wound down, long-run simulations added further intrigue. Drivers ran differing tyre compounds: Antonelli looked particularly strong on mediums, Verstappen and Hamilton tested softs, and Piastri stuck to hards. This variety sets up a fascinating battle for qualifying and the race itself.
Looking back at FP1, much of the talk in the paddock still centered on Alex Dunne’s breakout debut. The Irish teenager, currently leading the Formula 2 championship, was just 0.069s off Piastri in that session.
Such a close margin for a rookie, up against regular F1 drivers, was reminiscent of Norris’ own impressive first practice efforts as a junior at Monza back in 2018. Dunne’s performance has given McLaren yet another reason for optimism heading into the rest of the weekend.
With teams like McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari all bringing upgrades to Spielberg—McLaren with a revised front suspension, Red Bull sporting a new floor edge, and Ferrari unveiling their first new floor since Bahrain—the stage is set for a tight qualifying battle. The Friday pecking order may not tell the whole story, but Norris’ headline time is a clear sign that McLaren could be the team to beat at the Red Bull Ring.
Drivers and teams now turn their attention to data analysis and setup tweaks before Saturday’s decisive FP3 and qualifying sessions. Expect more drama and even closer gaps as the Austrian Grand Prix weekend continues.
