Russell edges Antonelli to top spot in final Austrian GP practice

George Russell snatched the top spot in final practice for the Austrian Grand Prix, denying Mercedes teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli a practice sweep by just 0.038 seconds. Russell's late lap of 1m07.096s capped off a fiercely competitive session at the Red Bull Ring, with the top seven drivers separated by less than four tenths of a second heading into qualifying.

Why it matters:

After Antonelli looked set to sweep all three practice sessions, Russell's late lap underlines the razor-thin margins between the Mercedes teammates. The close fight at the front points toward a tight qualifying battle, while Ferrari's return to form with Lewis Hamilton in third adds another contender to the fight at the sharp end.

The details:

• Russell set his benchmark time in the closing two minutes of the session, edging Antonelli after the Italian had earlier moved to the top with a 1m07.533s on soft tyres.
• Hamilton finished third for Ferrari, 0.115s off Russell's pace, giving the Scuderia its first top-three result of the weekend ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in fourth and fifth.
• Max Verstappen took sixth for Red Bull after briefly running as high as second during late qualifying simulations, while Charles Leclerc could only manage seventh.
• Behind the leading pack, Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson, and Arvid Lindblad secured top-10 finishes, marking a strong session for Red Bull-linked academy drivers.
• Track temperatures reached 48 degrees Celsius in 30-degree ambient heat, forcing teams to focus heavily on tyre preparation and soft-compound management ahead of qualifying.

What's next:

The narrow gaps across the top teams set the stage for a tense qualifying session at 4pm local time. With Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull all covered by just over three tenths, pole position is genuinely up for grabs at the Red Bull Ring.