Norris fastest in final Austrian GP practice

Express Tribune

9 hours ago

McLaren's Lando Norris celebrates after qualifying in pole position in the Formula One Australian Grand Prix Qualifying at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne on March 15. PHOTO: REUTERS
McLaren wrapped up practice for the Austrian Grand Prix with Lando Norris leading Formula One leader Oscar Piastri in another one-two at the top of the timesheets ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Norris, second overall and 22 points behind Piastri after 10 of the season's 24 races, lapped the Red Bull Ring with a best time of one minute 04.324 seconds and 0.118 quicker than the Australian.
Verstappen was 0.210 off the pace, with a big spin at the last corner at the end of the session, and was followed by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in fourth and fifth.
McLaren have topped two of the three sessions, with Mercedes' George Russell fastest in the opening one on Friday but sixth on a much warmer Saturday and getting hotter.
"That's why it went a little bit belly-up for us. We were quite competitive until the end and then you can see really it goes above a certain threshold of temperature and we lose performance," Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports television. "The McLarens in high-speed (corners) is going to be very difficult to match.
"We changed the balance a bit yesterday and that was in a direction that wasn't so perfect. It came back more today but then the track temperature developed so drastically during the session, we went from 33 degrees to 42 and that makes a big difference." Mercedes had Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli seventh, ahead of Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda and Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto completing the top 10.
Norris was also fastest in Friday's second session and is looking determined after drawing a blank in Canada two weeks ago when he collided with Piastri.
Dunnes impresses
Irish teen Alex Dunne, given track time as part of team obligations to give rookie drivers F1 experience, was the talk of the first session when he lapped fourth fastest and only 0.069 slower than Piastri.
Still only 19 and the first Irish driver in 22 years to take part in a grand prix weekend, he thanked the team over the radio as the chequered flag fell.
"A little boy's dream came true, and this is definitely the best day of my life," he said. "Thank you everyone for letting me do this, and thanks to Lando as well for trusting me with his car."
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella cautioned not to read too much into the time, however.
"Alex has been quite diligent and impressive, and then he also had the chance to show some speed and, no surprise, he is a fast driver," said the Italian. "I think we need to be a bit careful looking at the lap times, because his came later on in the stint when the fuel was down. But I think encouraging and impressive in terms of Alex himself, and also I think a good session for McLaren."
Austria has the shortest lap of the year in terms of time and all but 20th-placed Haas driver Oliver Bearman were within a second of Russell in the opening session. Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton was ninth and 10th respectively in the sessions as Ferrari made a difficult start to their preparations with mechanics working on both cars during practice one. Hamilton was also warned for impeding Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli. Leclerc sat out the first session with Swedish reserve Dino Beganovic getting some track time and finishing 18th. Fernando Alonso had a big spin in his Aston Martin but kept the car out of the barriers.