Kimi Antonelli tops Austrian Grand Prix FP2 with Lewis Hamilton only fifth

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Championship leader Kimi Antonelli has been quickest in Austrian GP practice so far as his biggest challengers lag behind; Lewis Hamilton could only manage fifth, with George Russell sixth.

Free Practice 2 kicked off with far fewer mechanical concerns for the likes of McLaren and Red Bull; both teams were able to hit the track with few issues, and the papaya duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri topped the charts ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix. The bad luck bug nevertheless plagued Alex Albon, who reported a lack of power after his out lap and had to return to the pits straightaway.

Max Verstappen reported that the car felt “completely different” when compared to the previous session ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix; F1TV commentator Jolyon Palmer noted that it appeared as if the Dutch racer had slipped down in his seat.

Cadillac plagued with issues again in Austrian GP FP2

Sergio Perez reported an issue as well, with his elbow brushing against the side of the cockpit. He brought his Cadillac to a stop at Turn 6, which resulted in the deployment of a Virtual Safety Car fewer than 10 minutes into the session. This pause allowed Verstappen a chance to pop into the pit lane and fix his seat.

It wasn’t long until another yellow flag emerged, this time with Norris locking up en route to Turn 3. The McLaren driver was able to keep his car out of the wall and returned to the track soon after. With 38 minutes remaining in the session, he nevertheless held the quickest time of the weekend.

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

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Cadillac’s tough day continued soon after as smoke began emanating from the bottom of Valtteri Bottas’ car. It appeared as though the car was dragging on the road, and the Finn returned to the pits without bringing out a yellow flag, 30 minutes left on the clock. Once there, it looked as if he had suffered some kind of suspension damage; the front bib had caught fire and needed to be extinguished.

With half of the session over, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli took a brief look at the top of the timing charts, only to be soon overtaken by Oscar Piastri, before Antonelli returned to the lead.

“This is the story of Turn 3 today,” Isack Hadjar complained over the radio as he was forced to catch his car snapping to the side. Verstappen, too, pointed out some engine issues with the Red Bull Racing machine in the same corner.

With three-quarters of the session done, it was Antonelli still at the top of the charts, followed by Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton in the top five.

Verstappen shed bodywork running over the kerbs with under 10 minutes to go, and a handful of other drivers ran wide as the session came to a close.

Yet up at the top of the charts remained Antonelli; the Italian driver looked confident after a difficult weekend last time out in Barcelona.