George Russell identifies "concerning" McLaren pace as a 'real threat' in F1 Austria GP

Mercedes driver George Russell has identified McLaren as a ‘real threat’ to his team at this weekend’s Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix after being concerned by the papaya team’s race pace in Friday practice.

Kimi Antonelli topped both practice sessions on a scorching Red Bull Ring on Friday, and in FP2 the Italian was 0.237s faster than McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and another tenth clear of Lando Norris, who recovered from lost FP1 track time caused by a hydraulic leak.

Russell could only manage sixth in FP2 after making a mistake on his fastest lap, with he said was “nothing to be concerned about”.

But he was a lot more concerned about the potential of the two McLarens because they looked competitive in race trim. 

“FP1 was a very strong session for us both,” Russell said. “And then straight out of the blocks in FP2, McLaren looked flying, to be honest. Their race pace, their single lap pace looks pretty decent.

“I think the biggest concern for us is seeing the pace in McLaren and Ferrari there as well. FP1 was a bit of a breeze, but FP2 has been challenging.”

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Mark Thompson / Getty Images

In Barcelona, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella explained the team’s advantage on tyre management in the heat had not carried over from previous years. But Russell feels the team’s performance at the hottest races of 2026 suggests otherwise.

When asked if McLaren are a real threat this weekend, he replied: “I think they are. I think there’s a real trend of these hot races that they’re strong. We saw it last year. We’ve seen it for years now.

“Miami was the first real hot race, and they arguably could have won. In Barcelona, Lando had a similar pace to ourselves and Lewis. And then here, they look really strong again, so there’s a real trend at these hot races that they seem to step it up, and we maybe take a step backwards.

“It was a real surprise seeing that first lap of the McLarens in FP2 right at the top, and their race pace, especially on Lando’s side, looked a bit better than us.”

McLaren’s Piastri wasn’t too convinced he could match Russell and Antonelli this weekend.

“I don’t know if we’re in the mix with Mercedes,’ the Australian said. “We seem to be kind of best of the rest after them. But I think Kimi and Mercedes always find a lot of pace from Friday to Saturday, so I’m expecting them to be very, very quick tomorrow.”

Lando Norris lost track time in FP1 with a hydraulic leak.

Photo by: Marcel van Dorst / EYE4images / NurPhoto via Getty Images

McLaren’s technical director Neil Houldey couldn’t suppress a chuckle when Russell’s flattering comments were put to him, but expected Ferrari and the heavily upgraded Red Bull to be in the mix as well.

“I’d like to think that George is right, but I think we’ve got to be realistic here,” Houldey responded. “We haven’t brought much from the last event. We’ve made some small changes.

“We’ve still got some opportunities, but we saw how quick Kimi was and I’m sure George is capable of the lap times that Kimi is. We know that Ferrari were very, very quick in Barcelona, and there’s no reason why they won’t be as fast here. Red Bull brought a big package, and we can expect them to be up there.

“So actually, I think it’s at least those eight drivers that are in contention here, and we don’t know at the moment where we are.”

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– The Motorsport.com Team