F3 Free Practice for the 2026 Austrian GP began in warm 24°C conditions at the Red Bull Ring at 09:55. However, competitive running did not begin immediately. Instead, the entire field remained in the pit lane for the opening 10 minutes of the 45-minute session, having only recently concluded in-season testing at the Spielberg circuit following the Monaco round.
AIX Racing opens F3 Free Practice at the 2026 Austrian GP
AIX Racing became the first team to venture onto the circuit, with Yevan David and newcomer Salim Hanna leading the way. Hanna replaced Brad Benavides for the Spielberg weekend and immediately began his first programme alongside his teammate.
Following exploratory laps, David became the first driver to record a representative lap. Hanna soon improved on that effort before David responded with a 1:37.942. Moments later, Hanna lowered the benchmark significantly with a 1:34.501.
Meanwhile, TRIDENT’s Noah Strømsted joined the action. On his fourth lap, the Danish driver moved to the top of the timesheets with a 1:32.603.
Full field finally takes to the track
At around the halfway point of the session, the remaining 27 drivers finally left the pit lane, transforming the quiet opening into a busy period of running.
Before the newcomers could improve, David briefly reclaimed top spot with a 1:24.837, while Strømsted followed closely with a 1:25.186 and Hanna improved to a 1:26.255.
Nevertheless, Strømsted quickly returned to the top by posting a 1:23.387. Behind him, Hitech’s Fionn McLaughlin emerged as the fastest of the late runners with a 1:29.462, placing fourth ahead of PREMA Racing’s James Wharton.
Lap times fall rapidly
As expected, the next flying laps produced dramatic improvements across the field.
MP Motorsport’s Tuukka Taponen became the new benchmark with a 1:23.158, opening a two-tenth advantage over Strømsted. Rodin Motorsport’s Alessandro Clerot then climbed to second with a 1:23.302 before Wharton edged ahead of him with a 1:23.183.
The lead continued to change hands within minutes. Van Amersfoort Racing’s Hiyu Yamakoshi set a 1:22.814 before Hitech’s Jin Nakamura immediately lowered the benchmark to 1:22.693.
Clerot then split the two Japanese drivers with a 1:22.705, while Campos Racing’s Ernesto Rivera secured fourth with a 1:22.829. Freddie Slater held fifth ahead of TRIDENT’s Matteo De Palo and championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu.
Campos briefly takes control
With just over 20 minutes remaining, PREMA Racing’s Louis Sharp improved to fifth with a 1:22.946. However, Taponen soon displaced him after lowering his own time to 1:22.849.
Soon afterwards, Campos Racing enjoyed a spell at the top. Rivera produced a 1:22.594 to lead the session, while teammate Théophile Naël secured second with a 1:22.646, giving the Spanish outfit a commanding one-two.
By this stage, every driver had recorded a representative lap. Impressively, only 1.1 seconds separated Rivera’s leading effort from Fernando Barrichello’s 1:23.737 in 30th place, underlining the exceptionally close competition.
Strømsted delivers the final blow to top F3 Free Practice at the 2026 Austrian GP
Although several drivers visited the gravel traps and scattered stones onto the racing line, the session remained interruption-free. However, track limits emerged as an early challenge for many competitors.
With just over 14 minutes remaining, Strømsted returned to the circuit and immediately reclaimed first place with a superb 1:22.410.
Slater responded by climbing to third before improving again to a 1:22.586, securing second place behind the TRIDENT driver.
Despite numerous midfield improvements during the closing minutes, none of the front-runners managed to better Strømsted’s benchmark.
As the chequered flag fell, Strømsted remained fastest after a well-timed final improvement. Meanwhile, only 1.3 seconds separated the TRIDENT driver at the top from Barrichello at the foot of the standings, highlighting just how competitive the opening Formula 3 session proved to be.
See the full F3 Free Practice results here.
