Image: from RaceGear NG X @RaceGearNG
By Open Chronicle
SPIELBERG, Austria, June 26, 2026, Kimi Antonelli capped an outstanding opening day for Mercedes by setting the fastest time in the second free practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.
After topping the opening practice earlier in the day, the Italian youngster improved further with a lap of 1:07.014, finishing ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Max Verstappen recovered to fourth after another eventful session, while Lewis Hamilton completed the top five for Ferrari.
Mercedes maintains an impressive pace
Mercedes continued to demonstrate excellent speed throughout Friday, with Antonelli once again emerging as the benchmark around the 4.3-kilometre Spielberg circuit.
Using medium tyres midway through the session, Antonelli first moved to the top with a 1:07.657 before improving to an impressive 1:07.014, a time that remained unbeaten until the chequered flag.
George Russell also showed competitive pace, finishing sixth and reinforcing Mercedes’ encouraging form ahead of qualifying.
Verstappen struggles with car balance
Red Bull endured another frustrating session despite bringing an extensive upgrade package to its home race.
Shortly after leaving the pits, Verstappen complained that his RB22 felt completely different from the morning session, telling his engineers he felt as though he was “almost lying down” in the cockpit due to an apparent seating or setup issue.
Although the reigning world champion improved to fourth by the end of the session, he finished more than half a second behind Antonelli.
McLaren close behind
McLaren once again looked like Mercedes’ closest challenger.
Piastri finished just 0.237 seconds behind Antonelli in second place, while Norris recovered from an early spin and briefly led the session before ending the afternoon in third.
The two McLaren drivers remained consistently competitive during both qualifying simulations and longer race runs.
Problems for Cadillac
Cadillac endured another difficult session.
Sergio Pérez stopped on track after reporting a loss of power, bringing out a Virtual Safety Car early in the practice.
Later, teammate Valtteri Bottas informed his engineers that smoke had entered the cockpit and reported technical concerns. Television images showed the Cadillac scraping heavily along the circuit surface throughout the session.
Bortoleto returns to action
Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto returned to the Audi after sitting out the opening practice session for reserve driver Paul Aron.
Bortoleto steadily built confidence during the afternoon, finishing tenth and comfortably inside the top ten, while teammate Nico Hülkenberg ended the session in 14th place.
Teams turn attention to Saturday
With Friday’s running complete, teams will now analyse the extensive data gathered from two productive practice sessions before Saturday’s final practice and qualifying.
Mercedes appears to hold a slight advantage heading into the remainder of the weekend, although McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari all remain firmly in contention.
Top 10, FP2 Austrian Grand Prix
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), 1:07.014
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren), +0.237
- Lando Norris (McLaren), +0.325
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull), +0.550
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), +0.597
- George Russell (Mercedes), +0.623
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)