Austrian GP: George Russell lifts Practice Three from Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton to set up exciting qualifying | F1 News

George Russell produced a blistering burst of speed in the final high practice for the Austrian Grand Prix from his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli.

World championship leader Antonelli dominated both of Friday’s sessions at the Red Bull Ring and appeared to separate himself from his rivals for most of Saturday’s session, before the script changed as his closest rivals came to life at the end.

First, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton closed to within a tenth of Antonelli, while Russell, who had been on the lookout for much of the session, clocked a 1:07.096s to go 0.038s clear of his team-mate, setting up a potentially exciting race in qualifying later on Saturday.

Antonelli leads Hamilton by 41 points at the top of the standings, while Russell is nine points back in third. The 19-year-old Italian had made it the first of five consecutive victories before Hamilton took his first win for Ferrari last week in Barcelona.

Oscar Piastri was nearly a quarter of a second in fourth as he edged out McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, with Max Verstappen just behind them in sixth as Red Bull continued their bid to get the most out of the huge promotion they brought to the team’s home race.

Charles Leclerc also struggled to match Ferrari team-mate Hamilton as he was more than three-tenths behind Russell’s lead in seventh place.

Max Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar finished eighth, while Racing Bulls duo Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.

Where did Russell’s late rush come from?

Russell backed up his position as pre-season title favorite by winning the opening race in Australia, but has since been surprisingly outclassed by his young teammate.

Antonelli’s impressive streak and pace have at times seemed to erode Russell’s confidence, and that was evident again on Saturday in Austria.

After the first qualifying session on the soft tyre, Antonelli passed Russell into fourth place at the top of the time sheet, with the Brit just ahead of the McLarens and Ferraris.

Russell returned to the garage this time to make some significant changes to his front suspension before putting the final squeeze on a new set of soft tires.

The first result was a small improvement that left him nearly two tenths behind Antonelli, who surprisingly failed to improve on his previous time.

Meanwhile, Hamilton suddenly gained a large chunk of time to close within 0.77s of Antonelli and announced himself as perhaps the biggest threat to Mercedes’ pole position.

The performance of the seven-time world champion has raised questions as to whether Ferrari has released the improved engine that they are working on for the first time this weekend.

Then, after more pit lane adjustments, Russell returned to the now worn tyres, and produced the best lap of the session, finally seeming to find comfort in the cockpit.

Talking to Sky Sports F1 immediately after the session, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he believed his team had now fine-tuned the suspension of their cars.

“It’s always good to be on top of the time sheet,” Wolf said.

“I think the car is probably as good as it goes. It was shaking but now it’s a little better with the changes that have been made.

“Now the gloves are off for them to get fit.”

Austrian GP live schedule for Sky Sports F1

Saturday June 27
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Austrian GP qualifying build-up*
3pm: AUSTRIAN GP QUALIFYING*
5pm: Ted’s Worthy Booklet

Sunday June 28
7.35am: F3 Feature Race
9.05am: F2 Feature Race
10.50am: Porsche Supercup
12.30pm: Austrian GP build-up: Sunday’s Grand Prix*
2pm: THE AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Austrian GP reaction: Checkered flag
5pm: Ted’s notebook

*Also on Sky Sports Main Event

The European Formula 1 season continues with the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports NOW – no contract, cancel anytime