Max Verstappen was fastest overall in first practice for the Austrian GP, as the Red Bull driver beat out Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz by 0.241s despite running on medium compound tyres.
Sainz and teammate Charles Leclerc were both around 2.5 seconds slower than Verstappen on the soft compound tyres, with Lewis Hamilton in fourth for Mercedes half a second behind the Dutchman.
The session was the only chance the teams have to get to grips with the Red Bull Ring ahead of the Sprint Race qualifying later on Friday.
Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez was fifth overall, also running on the medium tyres, while Aston Martin‘s Lance Stroll was sixth, ahead of Kevin Magnussen and teammate Fernando Alonso.
George Russell was ninth overall for Mercedes, with Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu rounding out the top 10.
