Formula 2 was back on Austrian soil, and Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring wasted no time in putting the field through its paces as Free Practice got the weekend underway. Pirelli had opted for the Soft and Supersoft compounds, the red and purple sidewall markings telling the two apart, and it was the harder of the two that drivers chose to begin their runs as they searched for grip on a track yet to be properly scrubbed in.
MP Motorsport’s Gabriele Minì was the first to set a meaningful benchmark, his early effort good enough to head the order, though the Italian’s advantage was short-lived. Teammate Oliver Goethe soon swept him aside, putting in a lap a quarter of a second quicker and forcing Nikola Tsolov, who had been hovering just behind in the Campos camp, into a response. The Bulgarian duly obliged, shaving the deficit to less than a tenth on his very next effort.
Shields brings out the red flag
A spin from Cian Shields brought a temporary halt to the 2026 F2 Austrian GP Free Practice session, the Scottish driver losing control ahead of Turn 7 and ending up beached in the gravel. Once the session got going again, Goethe continued to set the standard, though a combination of rising track temperatures and worn rubber made further improvement difficult for most. Noel León managed to find a little extra time to edge into fourth, and both Alex Dunne and Mari Boya had off-track moments of their own after the lights went back green.
Goethe emerged as the class of the field, Tsolov and Dunne completing the top three, with León and Câmara not far behind. Championship leader Gabriele Minì was P6, with some big names outside the top 10 ahead of qualifying.
F2 2026 Austrian GP Free Practice results
