1 hour ago
Key events
Preamble
The hills are live pinch nan sound of engines. Two weeks connected from nan outskirts of Barcelona, F1 has near metropolis life down for a dedicated circuit successful agrarian Austria and brought pinch it nan makings of a multi-team title race.
Lewis Hamilton’s victory successful Catalonia showed disconnected nan Ferrari’s improvements while nan reliability problems of nan Mercedes motor has been a interest for nan eponymous squad and besides McLaren. The Briton won from 2nd connected nan grid; OK, Kimi Antonelli had a mini powerfulness problem successful qualifying, but Hamilton was 0.064sec down his compatriot George Russell successful nan pole-sitting Mercedes, suggesting that location was small to take betwixt their drives.
Antonelli suffered nan benignant of bad luck that has mostly been afflicting Russell, losing powerfulness erstwhile second, truthful Hamilton took nan afloat 25 points retired of nan title leader’s advantage, cutting it to 41. Russell claimed that 2nd spot that seemed group for Antonelli, truthful astatine slightest took 18 retired of his teammate’s lead, but he will surely beryllium concerned astir his erstwhile Mercedes teammate’s reinvigoration.
The past fewer years person been a slog for Hamilton, ever since nan soon-to-be-former title head handed Max Verstappen nan 2021 world title successful Abu Dhabi. Swapping Mercedes for Ferrari for 2025 made matters worse connected nan look of it, pinch Hamilton’s only podium finishes coming successful sprint races. Now he has erstwhile again taken nan apical measurement successful a main race, and astatine a shape of nan play pinch each to play for.
Still, successful believe it has been Mercedes’s weekend. Antonelli led Russell, just, successful FP1, followed by Oscar Piastri for McLaren and Max Verstappen successful nan Red Bull, pinch Hamilton fifth. Antonelli again led FP2, but up of Piastri and Lando Norris for McLaren and Verstappen, pinch Hamilton again 5th and Russell down successful sixth. But Mercedes’s Briton was fastest successful Saturday’s FP3, up of Antonelli by 0.038. Hamilton, though, was up to third.
Join maine from 2.30 BST for nan buildup to qualifying to spot if Hamilton tin proceed to put unit connected nan Mercedes pinch a situation for rod position astatine nan Red Bull Ring.
