Jamie Chadwick expects Ferrari encouragement after closing the gap in Austrian GP final practice. Ferrari finds encouraging pace before qualifying at Red Bull Ring.

Ferrari closes the gap in Austrian GP FP3 as Jamie Chadwick expects stronger qualifying challenge

Ferrari heads into qualifying for the 2026 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix with considerably more optimism after a much stronger showing during the final practice session at the Red Bull Ring. Following a Friday that raised plenty of questions about the SF-26’s true competitiveness, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both appeared far more competitive in FP3, reducing the gap to the front-running Mercedes cars.

Although Mercedes once again finished at the top of the timing screens, Ferrari’s improvement suggested that the overnight work carried out by the engineers—and the extensive simulator programme completed in Maranello—may already have started to pay dividends.

Lewis Hamilton pushes the limits

Lewis Hamilton experienced a lock-up at Turn 3 during the closing stages of FP3, briefly raising concerns over his final preparation before qualifying. However, Sky Sports F1 analyst Jamie Chadwick pointed out that the incident was far from unusual, as several drivers, including those from Mercedes, struggled to consistently extract the maximum from the demanding Spielberg circuit.

“Lewis Hamilton locked up into Turn Three but a lot of drivers were doing that – Mercedes had their issues,” Jamie Chadwick explained.

She highlighted how difficult the Red Bull Ring can be despite its relatively short lap, with drivers constantly walking the fine line between finding lap time and exceeding the available grip: “It is such a tricky track to get to the limit and reach the maximum without overdoing the limit.”

According to Jamie Chadwick, the purpose of the final practice session is precisely to explore those limits before qualifying begins: “FP3 is the time to go exploring and find these things.”

Ferrari shows encouraging progress

The biggest positive for Ferrari was the clear improvement compared to Friday’s running. After appearing to trail Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull throughout the opening practice sessions, the Scuderia looked significantly more competitive on Saturday morning, particularly with Lewis Hamilton running near the front for much of FP3.

Jamie Chadwick believes Ferrari has every reason to feel encouraged heading into qualifying: “Ferrari are a lot closer than they were yesterday so I think they will be encouraged by that, although I am interested to see what happens in the afternoon.”

Even so, she cautioned that qualifying at the Red Bull Ring leaves virtually no room for error. With lap times expected to be separated by only a few hundredths of a second, every aspect of the performance package must come together perfectly: “You need everything to align round here and be perfect.”

That challenge now awaits Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Ferrari as they attempt to convert their overnight progress into a strong qualifying result at one of Formula 1’s most competitive circuits.