Lando Norris topped the timing sheets during FP3 at the 2025 Austrian GP with a 1:04.324, with Oscar Piastri in second and Max Verstappen close behind in third.
What happened during FP1 and FP2?
George Russell led FP1 at the 2025 Austrian GP with a time of 1:05.542, edging out Max Verstappen, with Oscar Piastri continuing McLaren’s strong pace, finishing in third. Rookie Alex Dunne finished in fourth place with a standout performance during his mandatory rookie session, replacing Lando Norris.
During FP2, McLaren continued their strong pace with Norris and Piastri finishing in first and second place, further confirming their frontrunner status coming into Qualifying later on. Verstappen was close behind the McLarens in third position, continuing his run in the top 3 across the first two practice sessions.
Lance Stroll was a surprise standout in P4, outperforming both Mercedes and Ferrari. Further down the field, Alpine’s pace remained an issue, with Gasly reporting problems on the team radio during the session. McLaren looks like the team to beat this weekend in Austria so far, finishing strong in both Friday practice sessions and will be looking to continue their strong form during Saturday’s FP3 and Qualifying session.
Green Light
The drivers were ready for the final practice session before Qualifying later on today. As the lights went green, all drivers stayed in the pit lane, with many drivers out of their cars. After 4 minutes of no cars out on track, Fernando Alonso was the first driver out onto track for FP3 at the Austrian GP. Lando Norris was sitting in the garage, talking to his engineers with no sign of getting into his car. Max Verstappen started his first lap on the hard tyres, setting the first flying lap time of 1:06.131. The two Alpines came out onto the track with the medium tyres, searching for pace following a lack of it during the first two practice sessions.
After 15 minutes of FP3 at the Austrian GP, Verstappen sat atop the timing sheets despite having a small moment at the last corner, nicking the gravel. Verstappen came on the radio complaining about the car being too snappy, particularly in the final few corners. Norris, who topped the timing sheets in FP2, came out onto the track, immediately setting the fastest lap time on a soft set of tyres with a 1:05:412. The current leader of the Drivers Championship, Oscar Piastri, went into third place on his first flying lap, just as Franco Colapinto had a small moment locking up into turn 3.
Quite start to FP3 at the Austrian GP
After a quiet start to FP3 in Austria, the top 5 are Norris, Verstappen, Piastri, Tsunoda and Stroll. Antonelli had a small moment running wide into the gravel on a fast lap, putting him in 16th. Lots of drivers had been running wide coming into turn 1, with both McLarens being a part of that group. Mercedes looked to be running a heavier car, with both cars being over 1 second off Norris’s 1:04:888 current fastest lap.
Halfway through FP3 at Austrian GP
As we got to the halfway point of the session, most drivers were in the pits, cooling or changing their tyres. Antonelli set another flying lap time, putting him up 10 places into sixth, just 6 tenths behind the leader, Norris. The top five drivers after 30 minutes stood as Norris, Hamilton, Russell, Piastri, and Tsunoda. Every driver in the top 10, bar Max Verstappen, had the soft tyres fitted. Alex Albon set his first lap on the soft tyres for FP3, putting him in sixth position.
Oscar Piastri had a moment at turn 9, coming on the radio with worries about the condition of his car’s floor. As Russell moved up to 2nd, current World Champion Max Verstappen sat in the garage with work being done to his car, still only having 1 flying lap time on the hard tyres at the start of the session. Both Mercedes found pace with just under 20 minutes to go in the session, sitting in second and third place, less than 2 tenths behind Lando Norris, who still sits at the front of the field.
Norris sets another fastest lap, improving by almost 5 tenths ahead of the Mercedes. Hadjar has a spin in the final corner, carrying too much speed and understeering into the gravel, but no damage is done as he pirouettes skilfully, saving any further damage.
10 minutes to go in FP3 at the Austrian GP
Piastri moves up to second place, resulting in a McLaren 1-2 and only a little over a tenth between the two drivers, further showing their dominance. Verstappen comes out onto the track with a fresh set of soft tyres, preparing to set a final flying lap.
The biggest surprise of the session once again happened to be Lance Stroll, sitting in fifth position after a strong P4 performance during FP2. Meanwhile, both Alpines seemed to be struggling for pace once again, sitting in 18th and 20th and looking like a lot of work needs to be done before Qualifying later on. Max Verstappen moves up into third position, 0.210 seconds behind Norris’s fastest lap time, showing the pace advantage McLaren has at the Austrian GP this weekend.
With 5 minutes to go in the session, George Russell set off for his final flying lap before Qualifying, however, not moving from his current sixth position. Antonelli almost had a big moment on his final fast lap, resulting in him also not moving from his seventh position on the timing boards.
Yuki Tsunoda brought out a short yellow flag, spinning out at turn 1 before pointing his car in the right direction and continuing on. The second Red Bull of Max Verstappen had a spin at the final turn, however, sounding very relaxed on the team radio, saying, “Nice little 360.”
As the chequered flag flew for FP3 at the Austrian GP, Lando Norris topped the timing sheets with a 1:04.324, with Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen close behind, rounding off the top 3 ahead of Qualifying later on today.
Classification
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Max Verstappen
- Charles Leclerc
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Kimi Antonelli
- Lance Stroll
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Liam Lawson
- Fernando Alonso
- Nico Hulkenberg
- Alex Albon
- Carlos Sainz
- Oliver Bearman
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Franco Colapinto
- Isack Hadjar
