F1 Austrian GP live commentary and updates - FP3

We're going to take a break, but make sure to join us again for qualifying - it's sure to be a thriller! See you then.

Lots of spinners today - puts one in mind of when Beyblades became popular in primary school (probably showing my age here). Colapinto lets it rip at Turn 3 and ends up facing the wrong way.

And Verstappen also has a spin at Turn 10, takes the gravel on the outside and has "a little 360" as he gets the car facing the right way.

Gasly almost has a tangle with Verstappen on the exit of Turn 9, finding the Red Bull dawdling on the racing line.

Norris' front wing gets a spritz of flow vis - that's the one that the team trialled in Canada two weeks ago.

Russell remains sixth on his latest lap, although the softs he's running are quite old at this point. Antonelli, also on old tyres, doesn't improve either as he brushes the Turn 10 gravel.

Tsunoda had a spin at Turn 1 to bring out a brief yellow. 

We've got a little less than five minutes left - do we have any more takers for a quick lap?

Norris logs an improved first sector, finding a tenth, but backs out of his lap after skating over the sausage kerb at Turn 3.

Leclerc gets up to third, 0.25s off the pace, but is displaced by Verstappen who finds 0.04s over the Ferrari driver. He's 0.210s off Norris' benchmark.

Verstappen's about to do his soft-tyre run. Russell and Antonelli also follow suit, as does Leclerc.

Bortoleto was up on his opening two sectors, but lost time in the final part - so no improvement this time for the Sauber rookie.

Piastri sets the best first sector by 0.002s, but cedes a little time in the next two parts of the lap and is 0.118s shy of Norris at the end of the lap.

Stroll goes up to fourth, albeit 0.7s off the pace, as Tsunoda improves to get up to fifth. It's in the middle sector where the Japanese driver has lost a little time to the Canadian, but recovers some of it in the final sector.

Hadjar's crawling along the start/finish straight, as he's had a spin and brought out a brief yellow flag. He got on the gravel, loses the grip and spins, but it's one of the most immaculate spins you'll see as he regains control. 

Bortoleto gets up to sixth now with his run on softs.

Hulkenberg goes up to 10th, but Norris is on another flyer and he's considerably up on his previous best.

It's a 1m04.324s, over 0.5s better than his previous tour.

There's a bit of work going on with Verstappen's floor, as the mechanics are lying on the ground checking out the situation.

Meanwhile, Piastri's floor looks a bit ragged on the edge and the mechanics are trying to repair the aero parts here.

Alonso goes up to sixth, in the meantime as he gets his first soft-tyre run in.

Oof, Piastri carried too much speed through Turn 9 and brushed the gravel - the car very nearly went round on him, but he managed to hang on.

Russell goes up to second, 0.130s versus Norris as he loses time in the final sector.

Antonelli moves up to third on his latest soft-tyre effort.

Although the field spread is only 1.5s, expect it to shrink; six of the seven drivers at the bottom half of the field is yet to do a lap on softs.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Andy Hone / LAT Images via Getty Images

Leclerc moves up to fifth, as Ferrari gets both cars into the top five. Albon then breaks into sixth place.

Verstappen is still circulating on hard tyres, yet to show his hand with a run on the C5s.

Russell then gets up into third place, as the Mercs dial themselves in - a 1m05.366s is still 0.478s off Norris' benchmark. Antonelli splits the Red Bulls and goes up to sixth.

Order after 30 minutes

Here's our top 10 after the first stage of the session:

1. Norris, 2. Hamilton, 3. Piastri, 4. Tsunoda, 5. Verstappen, 6. Bortoleto, 7. Hulkenberg, 8. Sainz, 9. Albon, 10. Leclerc.

Tsunoda set a purple first sector but then aborted his run - so presumably, he had a moment at Turn 3. 

The two Mercs set their opening laps of the session, Piastri goes up to third but has a wide at Turn 1, and we've got both Saubers in the top seven. 

It's all happening - and Leclerc finally gets a lap on the board with a 1m05.850s.

Norris now finds a 1m04.888s, which is a bit more in the realm of where we were in FP2. The McLaren driver did a 1m04.580s yesterday.

Hamilton goes up to second, 0.453s off Norris' time.

Second for Tsunoda on that lap, 0.087s off Norris - while Bearman gets up to fifth - 0.5s off the pace.

Still, we're well away from yesterday's pace - so let's not assume anything is particularly representative at the moment.

Piastri sets his first effort on the soft tyre and goes third-fastest. 

Leclerc has a moment at Turn 3 and aborts a lap, while Tsunoda's set a solid first sector on this lap so far...

Tsunoda gets into second, a tenth down on Verstappen, as Hamilton does his first lap of the session and goes third-fastest.

Verstappen raises the bar with a 1m05.818s on the hards, but he's not happy with the corner exits in the higher-speed. "The car is a bit nervous getting back on the throttle, Turn 6 and the last corner...it's a bit snappy."

Ocon's about to post a time on softs but is about a second down on his opening sighter, as is team-mate Bearman.

The Alpines put times on the board; Gasly sets a 1m06.800s on the mediums, putting him 0.8s ahead of Colapinto.

Ocon's on an outlap too, so we're slowly getting more activity.

It's a 1m06.131s for Verstappen on the hard tyre. Franco Colapinto hits the track too, if to get some early sighters in on the medium.

A tentative start to the session at this point.

Max Verstappen's on the road now too, surely about to deliver our first lap. The Astons appear to be doing the usual tyre scrub, so a lot of out-and-in laps from the green machines.

And indeed, the Aston Martins hit the road - Alonso and Stroll hit the track. 

Lots of shots on the world feed of drivers standing around chatting to their engineers - but not a lot of vehicular motion at the moment. That said, Alonso's in his car and looks like he's about to get us off the mark...

FP3 coming up in 15 minutes

Last orders for free practice before the teams prepare for qualifying! Will McLaren preserve the advantage it found in FP2, or will battle be joined?

Let's find out.

Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber

Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images

Dunne thanks McLaren for "special" FP1 debut

McLaren junior driver Alex Dunne spoke this morning about his debut for the team in yesterday's FP1 session, in which he achieved an impressive fourth place in the times.

The Irishman suggested that stepping back into the F2 car afterwards was arguably more difficult than the step-up, as he put his Rodin car seventh on the grid - albeit just 0.2s off pole.

Dunne on his FP1 session: "Before the session started, you know, when I was queued up at the end of the pit lane waiting for the light to go green and I was sat there behind Lewis Hamilton, that was pretty cool. It was very, very special to me."

On F2 qualifying: " I think the step up is definitely much easier than it was to step back down. Of course there are different driving styles from one to the other, but I think because the F1 car has so much grip, I think for a driver like me who isn't in it every week, I kind of feels like the car has an unlimited amount of capabilities."

Alexander Dunne, McLaren

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

How strong will each team be in the race?

We've done our usual FP2 race pace analysis; although the picture might have changed slightly overnight, this is where we currently stand.

Formula 1

Analysis: What we learned in Friday practice at the F1 Austrian GP

There was lots going on during Friday practice at the Austrian Grand Prix but one constant came out of it: McLaren looking the team to beat. But, who is its closest competition and is the Papaya squad actually that far ahead?

Friday recap

George Russell led the way in FP1 over Max Verstappen, as F2 championship leader Alex Dunne impressed in his maiden FP1 session for McLaren - reaching fourth on the timing board while replacing Lando Norris.

Norris then took top spot in FP2 over Oscar Piastri, as the McLarens demonstrated strong pace over the weekend. 

FP1 times

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info

1

 - 

4

Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	34	1'05.542		S	237.173
2	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	30	+0.065 1'05.607	0.065	S	236.938
3	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	33	+0.155 1'05.697	0.090	S	236.613
4	A. Dunne McLaren	89		McLaren	Mercedes	29	+0.224 1'05.766	0.069	S	236.365
5	P. Gasly Alpine	10		Alpine	Renault	34	+0.238 1'05.780	0.014	S	236.314
View full results

FP2 times

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info

1

 - 

4

Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	L. Norris McLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	35	1'04.580		S	240.706
2	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	35	+0.157 1'04.737	0.157	S	240.122
3	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	24	+0.318 1'04.898	0.161	S	239.526
4	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	32	+0.442 1'05.022	0.124	S	239.069
5	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	32	+0.610 1'05.190	0.168	S	238.453
View full results

Austrian GP FP3 starts in 60 minutes

Good morning, and happy Saturday! Coming up in an hour's time will be our final free practice session of the weekend, with qualifying for the Austrian GP coming up later on in the day.

Stay tuned to get your fix of alpine views (or in the shot below, Alpine alpine views) and engine noise!

Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images