Austrian GP: Antonelli Tops FP2 as McLaren Stays Close; Bottas' Cadillac Catches Fire

Kimi Antonelli laid down a marker for Mercedes by going fastest in FP2 at the Red Bull Ring, finishing two tenths clear of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. While the Silver Arrow topped the timesheets, Cadillac endured a nightmare session as Valtteri Bottas battled a fiery floor issue and Sergio Perez was sidelined by a recurring electrical fault.

Why it matters:

Antonelli's pace on soft tyres signals that Mercedes has genuine single-lap speed in Spielberg, keeping the pressure on McLaren heading into qualifying. Meanwhile, Cadillac's reliability woes are escalating, with both cars suffering distinct mechanical problems that threaten to derail their entire weekend.

The details:

• Antonelli's charge: The Italian set the benchmark with a 1:07.014 on soft tyres, edging Piastri by 0.237s and Norris by 0.325s. Max Verstappen managed fourth for Red Bull, half a second off the pace, while Lewis Hamilton placed fifth for Ferrari.
• Mercedes split: George Russell ended up sixth but appeared to struggle with understeer through the middle sector, leaving him over six tenths behind his rookie teammate.
• Cadillac's nightmare: Bottas crawled back to the pits with sparks flying from a dragging floor, followed by smoke and a small fire in the cockpit that reignited after the crew's first attempt to extinguish it. Perez stopped at Turn 6 with a repeat of the ECU problem that ended his FP1 early, leaving him without a representative time.
• Other incidents: Alex Albon missed early running due to a power issue on his Williams, while Lando Norris and Franco Colapinto both had off-track moments at Turn 3 and Turn 6 respectively.

What's next:

The data suggests Mercedes and McLaren are the teams to beat in qualifying trim, and Antonelli's margin gives Brackley real hope of pole position. Cadillac faces a long night of repairs to get both cars competitive for Saturday, with Perez's electrical gremlins and Bottas' floor damage representing two very different headaches. The race simulations completed late in the session will give strategists their first real look at how Sunday's Grand Prix could unfold in the Styrian heat.