George Russell edges Kimi Antonelli in Austrian Grand Prix FP3 with Lewis Hamilton close

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After Friday’s domination by Kimi Antonelli, it was Mercedes teammate George Russell snatching the quickest time of the final session ahead of qualifying at the Red Bull Ring.

After Cadillac’s challenging Friday practice sessions ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Sergio Perez was the first driver to hit the tarmac at the Red Bull Ring for the start of Free Practice 3.

After 10 minutes had passed, more cars began to trickle onto the track. Franco Colapinto, Nico Hulkenberg, and Isack Hadjar headed out as the Cadillac of Perez briefly returned to the garage with seven clean laps under his belt. Hadjar, on a hard set of tyres, hopped to the top of the charts for a moment as the session settled in.

Yet when the major players took to the track, the times began to fall. Lando Norris was the first frontrunner to sneak into the lead, with just over 18 minutes remaining in the session.

Which Mercedes driver needs a stronger weekend at the Austrian GP: Kimi Antonelli or George Russell?

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Odd problems continued to plague Red Bull’s Max Verstappen; after Friday’s broken seat, the four-time World Champion turned to the radio to highlight the fact that he was experiencing some form of interference with his headset, requesting a change of balaclava.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, too, informed his team that he was experiencing some discomfort with his seat, claiming it felt something was stuck behind his shoulder blade.

The Mercedes duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell were two of the last drivers to leave the pit lane, and, as expected, both darted to the top of the charts, though Ferrari were ready to nip at their heels. The frontrunners were not immune to problems, though; Russell took to the radio to point out an issue with straight-line braking.

“I cannot turn the car, so there is something wrong at the front,” came word from Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who was forced to return to the pits after just 13 laps on the board and with 15 minutes remaining in the session.

With the session winding down, more and more drivers were keen on getting their flying laps on the board, yet it was Antonelli holding strong with the quickest lap. In the closing moments of the session, though, it was George Russell who snatched the quickest lap.