Austrian GP FP2 recap: McLaren sets the pace, unclear signals from Ferrari. McLaren leads the way in FP2 at the Austrian GP.

McLaren once again scares all its rivals, while Ferrari remains complicated to interpret. Here is the summary of FP2 from the Austrian GP weekend in F1.

The first day at the Red Bull Ring concluded with the checkered flag marking the end of the second Free Practice session. Teams collected a large amount of crucial data to optimize their cars ahead of Saturday. Below is a recap and the full results from FP2 at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris returned to action after sitting out FP1 for Dino Beganovic and Dunne respectively. Norris impressed immediately, slotting in right behind teammate Oscar Piastri. Ferrari, on the other hand, faced gearbox issues on Hamilton’s car. Mercedes alarmed its rivals by showing strong pace in both long runs and single-lap performance.

First half of the session
Norris and the two Mercedes drivers began the session on medium tyres. Initial times were not particularly meaningful, as teams worked through different programs. Ferrari joined the session a bit later, followed by Red Bull. Norris and Piastri led early on, with Antonelli and Russell right behind. Ferrari’s run plan was hard to interpret as they hovered near the bottom of the standings.

With 20 minutes remaining, Norris continued to set the pace, but Verstappen moved into second place. Carlos Sainz in the Williams reached sixth, while Hamilton climbed to fourth after early struggles. Leclerc struggled to keep the car on track and had two off-track excursions, but later improved and slotted in behind Hamilton.

Mercedes wasted no time and was the first to switch to soft tyres in search of the fastest lap. However, the initial flying laps were underwhelming, and neither George Russell nor Lewis Hamilton beat the medium-shod times. Russell eventually went quickest, waiting to see how rivals responded.

As teams began their time attacks, McLaren dominated the first runs, taking the top two spots. Surprisingly, Stroll’s Aston Martin slotted ahead of George Russell’s Mercedes, while Alonso also entered the top 10, confirming improvements in the car. Hamilton was nine tenths off Norris in his flying lap.

Second half of the session
After the 30-minute mark, some drivers still hadn’t set representative lap times. At the end of qualifying simulations, Norris led the field followed by Oscar Piastri. Max Verstappen jumped to third, pushing Stroll down the order. Charles Leclerc improved and went ahead of Russell, while Hamilton overtook Antonelli for tenth. Gabriel Bortoleto impressed by placing ahead of Fernando Alonso in eighth.

Williams appeared further back in this session, while Racing Bulls edged closer to the top 10. Haas struggled, particularly in Sector 1, consistently setting the worst splits. Only Franco Colapinto was slower in that part of the track. Hülkenberg remained anonymous at the back of the field.

With 15 minutes left, teams started their long runs. Various tyre compounds were used, including the C5 for race simulations. McLaren and Mercedes emerged as the quickest cars. Ferrari showed decent pace at times but lacked consistency. Williams and Sauber held their own in the midfield. Aston Martin looked stronger today with Stroll, including during long runs.

In the final minutes, McLaren and Norris in particular remained clearly ahead. Mercedes improved slightly. Leclerc’s medium-tyre long run was encouraging. Verstappen ran on softs but suffered from tyre degradation after a few laps. He went out again with a fresh set of softs and began pushing.