Friday data from the Red Bull Ring
The second free practice session was, as often said, a one-color affair: papaya McLaren. The two Woking cars locked out the top two positions with a high-performance qualifying simulation. Perhaps too high, suggesting an aggressive setup in terms of fuel load and engine modes. However, their long-run simulations—where it’s harder to hide true pace—were also excellent, confirming Norris (especially) and Piastri as the leading contenders to dominate the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.
McLaren upgraded and strong, Norris at his best
The MCL39’s speed clearly stems from the entire package. The suspension updates have significantly improved cornering performance—both in entry and traction on exit—while also enhancing the car’s versatility in compromised setups. Austria is a prime example, where the first part of the circuit demands a soft rear end for traction in low-speed exits, while the second sector, from Turn 5 to the finish line, requires high lateral stiffness to maximize aerodynamic stability in high-speed corners.
This unique mix calls for a suspension system that performs well in all conditions, and the updates led by Andrea Stella’s engineering team seem to deliver that. Norris also shows a natural affinity for the Austrian track, which he demonstrated throughout Friday. But can anyone challenge him and Oscar Piastri?
Max Verstappen has a car for all conditions
Looking at the session and the resulting data, Max Verstappen appears to be the main contender to disrupt McLaren’s dominance, starting with the front row in qualifying. His session wasn’t entirely clean, with plenty of setup changes—a common routine for Red Bull.
The RB21 continues to top the speed charts in the DRS zones, showcasing exceptional efficiency. This gives Max Verstappen two weapons for the two distinct sectors of the Red Bull Ring: in the first part, he benefits from a very fast car on the straights with DRS open; in the second part, with high-speed corners, he can rely on the car’s strong lateral stiffness and solid downforce.
The data also reveals Max Verstappen’s distinctive “V-shaped” driving style: in Turns 6, 8, and 10, he hits the slowest point earlier and at a lower speed than rivals, allowing him to get back on the throttle sooner for better traction. As a result, he limits his gap to Norris in sectors two and three to about 0.15s per sector.
Mercedes less effective in the afternoon
Mercedes drivers, especially Russell, led the morning session, but the afternoon told a different story. The car performs well in the first half of the lap, showing strong traction, but from Turn 4 onward, Russell’s gap to Norris increases rapidly, exposing some of Mercedes’ weaknesses—both in track layout and the high afternoon temperatures, which are expected to rise even more on race day.
Russell was even 16 km/h slower at the penultimate corner, indicating a loss of grip and confidence compared to FP1. The W15 still performs better under longitudinal loads than lateral ones. A key technical note this weekend is engine cooling: Mercedes seems conservative with its power unit, whereas McLaren, using a different and more compact cooling system, can run with tighter bodywork and fewer open cooling vents—despite using the same engine.
Ferrari running tests, big room for improvement—but how far can they go?
As for Ferrari, it was clear their Friday was focused on tests and experiments, as confirmed by Fred Vasseur on Sky. The first session was impacted by Hamilton’s gearbox issue, pushing some evaluations to FP2.
Leclerc spent FP2 trying to find his usual braking and corner entry references, but the car didn’t always respond as expected—perhaps made less extreme by recent updates, requiring adjustments in his driving style. Downforce has improved, but it’s harder to exploit due to weakness in corner entry.
Since Charles Leclerc only ran in the second session, it’s likely more balance work is needed to tune the car to his preferences, particularly for heavy braking zones.
Pace across the field looks very close
It’s important to note that in Austria, race pace may be more decisive than qualifying, given the many overtaking opportunities. With Sunday expected to be extremely hot, tire degradation will increase, making hard compounds more attractive.
Interestingly, despite different approaches, long-run pace is remarkably close across the board: 1:09.7 for Verstappen, Antonelli, and Piastri; 1:09.6 for Norris; 1:09.8 for Leclerc and Hamilton. Only Russell was slower, averaging over 1:10—suggesting Mercedes struggles more in open air.
Only Max with the papayas? Charles Leclerc needs verification
To answer the original question, only Max Verstappen currently looks capable of breaking McLaren’s grip on qualifying and the race. However, Leclerc could step up with a strong overnight setup adjustment, potentially putting him in contention for the second row in qualifying, and leaving the race pace to decide whether a podium or more is possible.
McLaren’s one-color dominance on Friday was clear, but it may have been amplified by favorable fuel and engine conditions. The real test comes in FP3 and especially in qualifying, where Woking’s form will be truly measured.
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