F1 | FP1 | Austrian GP | Russell quickest as Dunne produces stunning P4 - Motorsport

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Round 11 of the 2025 F1 season is underway as FP1 at the Austrian GP has been completed, view the full report and results below.

A couple of driver swaps took place for opening practice. McLaren handed their Irish junior Alex Dunne an opportunity as he stepped in for Lando Norris. At Ferrari Dino Beganovic replaced Charles Leclerc.

Kimi Antonelli set the first proper time of the session on a 1:08.309 on hards. Lance Stroll soon beat that as he clocked a 1:07.830 on mediums, before George Russell smashed that by 0.690s.

Once again Aston Martin showed great pace early doors as a 1:06.853 from Lance Stroll put him 0.219s clear of Fernando Alonso on hards. Russell, Albon and Sainz completed the top 5.

At turn 1 Max Verstappen had a big lock-up and was visibly frustrated as he took to the run-off.

George Russell was P1 after ten minutes as he did a 1:06.537, followed by Stroll, Antonelli, Alonso and Gasly. Verstappen was 12th, with Piastri 15th.

The Dutchman vaulted up to 2nd, 0.186s slower than Russell after getting a proper lap in. Meanwhile the championship leader was up in 7th.

Mercedes continued to pace the field as a 1:06.139 from George Russell put him 0.584s clear of Verstappen. Antonelli split them, 0.203s adrift of his teammate.

Up at turn 3, Yuki Tsunoda locked both his fronts and went straight on into the run-off as both Red Bull drivers had issues. Ollie Bearman joined them as he locked up his left front entering turn 1.

Russell, Antonelli, Verstappen, Gasly, Sainz, Bortoleto, Alonso, Albon, Stroll and Hadjar was the top 10 almost a third of the way through FP1.

Carlos Sainz was the latest name to go P1 not long after as he did a 1:06.017 on mediums to go top of the charts. George Russell was quick to respond as he did a 1:05.776 on softs. Kimi Antonelli was P3, 0.354s slower than his teammate.

Down at Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton was told about gearbox problems but quickly returned to the track. Meanwhile Dino Beganovic’s car was up on stands on the other side of the garage. The Swede also got back on track.

Alex Dunne eventually got in a full push lap just before the halfway point. He was 2.744s off P1.

As Russell logged a 1:05.542, Gabriel Bortoleto went 2nd behind the Brit, 0.373s down. Sainz, Antonelli, Hülkenberg, Piastri, Verstappen, Gasly, Bearman and Lawson was the top 10 at the 30-minite mark. The Mercedes’, Saubers, and Bearman did their best times on softs at that point.

Preparing for a lap, Fernando Alonso spun out of the final corner on cold tyres and ended up in the grass. He avoided the barriers, nonetheless.

Using the hards, Alex Dunne slotted into 13th between Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.

Esteban Ocon was the latest driver to have a big lock-up at turn 1 as he had to go straight on.

Behind Russell, the order shuffled around. Max Verstappen got within 0.065s of the benchmark time. Oscar Piastri was P3, 0.155s away from the Brit.

However the most impressive time came from Alex Dunne as the Irishman was only 0.069s slower than his Australian teammate, going a superb 4th overall. He was only 0.224s away from George Russell.

Gasly, Bortoleto, Albon, Sainz, Hamilton and Hadjar completed the top 10. 0.568s was the time gap between them.

Antonelli, Hülkenberg, Stroll, Alonso, Lawson, Colapinto, Tsunoda, Beganovic, Ocon and Bearman filled the second half of the timesheets.