Verstappen Sets Pace in First Practice at Austria.

Posted 2 months ago

Max Verstappen of Red Bull led the way in practice at the Austrian Grand Prix, outpacing McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

In practice at the Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen of Red Bull set the pace, leading McLaren's Oscar Piastri by 0.276 seconds.

Lando Norris of McLaren, who has been a consistent challenger to Verstappen recently, had a quick lap but ran wide at Turn Four, finishing 13th despite setting the fastest first sector time earlier.

McLaren introduced a new front wing aiming to enhance their performance, particularly in slow-speed corners.

Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell initially led the session but didn't run on soft tires late on, dropping to fifth and eighth respectively as others focused on qualifying simulations.

Behind Verstappen and Piastri, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third fastest, followed closely by teammate Carlos Sainz. Esteban Ocon of Alpine and Lance Stroll of Aston Martin rounded out the top six.

Verstappen encountered a brief red flag when his engine stalled on the pit straight, raising concerns as he nears the limit of four engines for the season due to a failure in Canada.

Despite this issue, Red Bull managed to restart his car, with a grid penalty likely in future races as a result.

The decision on the Canada engine is pending, but it's anticipated that some components may be salvaged while a penalty is expected, possibly before the August summer break.