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Andrea Kimi Antonelli maintained his place at the top of the times in the second practice session at the Red Bull Ring.
The world championship leader produced two rapid laps on the soft tyres in the sweltering track conditions, lowering his best effort to a 1’07.014. That left him well clear of team mate George Russell, who locked up on his set of softs and ended up six tenths of a second slower than his team mate.
That left four cars between the two Mercedes drivers. The McLaren pair got closest to Antonelli’s time, Oscar Piastri lapping two-tenths of a second slower.
Max Verstappen faced an unusual problem in his Red Bull early in the session, telling his team “we need to take my seat out”. They were at least able to remedy that problem, and Verstappen ended the session fourth overall. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the FIA’s deliberations over F1’s Additional Development Upgrade Opportunities, he had a few things to say about his car’s alleged lack of grunt as well.
Lewis Hamilton also separated Russell from his team mate, though Ferrari showed little of their pace from the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, the series’ most recent winner lapping almost six-tenths of a second off Antonelli. Charles Leclerc, back in his SF-26 which Dino Beganovic drove in the opening session, played himself in with the eighth-fastest time behind Isack Hadjar.
Two more drivers who missed the opening session completed the top 10: Liam Lawson followed by Gabriel Bortoleto.
Cadillac suffered more problems after introducing their first major upgrade for the MAC-26. Sergio Perez came to a stop within nine minutes of the session beginning – having also brought the opening session to an end – and Valtteri Bottas was forced to pit after reporting smoke from his car.
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2026 Austrian Grand Prix second practice result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W17 | 1’07.014 | |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’07.251 | 0.237 |
| 3 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’07.339 | 0.325 |
| 4 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’07.564 | 0.550 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’07.611 | 0.597 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W17 | 1’07.637 | 0.623 |
| 7 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’07.758 | 0.744 |
| 8 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’07.855 | 0.841 |
| 9 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford | 03 | 1’08.235 | 1.221 |
| 10 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | R26 | 1’08.300 | 1.286 |
| 11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Mercedes | A526 | 1’08.376 | 1.362 |
| 12 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford | 03 | 1’08.378 | 1.364 |
| 13 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-26 | 1’08.532 | 1.518 |
| 14 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | R26 | 1’08.559 | 1.545 |
| 15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | VF-26 | 1’08.830 | 1.816 |
| 16 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine-Mercedes | A526 | 1’08.831 | 1.817 |
| 17 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW48 | 1’08.838 | 1.824 |
| 18 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW48 | 1’09.131 | 2.117 |
| 19 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Honda | AMR26 | 1’10.544 | 3.530 |
| 20 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Honda | AMR26 | 1’10.698 | 3.684 |
| 21 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac-Ferrari | MAC-26 | 1’11.307 | 4.293 |
| 22 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac-Ferrari | MAC-26 | No time |
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2026 Austrian Grand Prix
- “Large risk” Red Bull will be unable to upgrade engine due to FIA’s ADUO decision – Mekies
- Antonelli stays on top ahead of McLarens in second practice
- Antonelli leads Mercedes one-two as technical trouble delays McLaren and Red Bull
- Are Ferrari back? What is McLaren’s ‘experimental’ wing?: Six Austrian GP talking points
- How to watch the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix live this weekend
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