Norris and Piastri top final practice ahead of Verstappen and Leclerc

Lando Norris topped the second of the two practice sessions he took part in at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Having sat out the first session yesterday and topped the second, Norris was consistently quickest throughout the final hour of running ahead of qualifying. He produced a best time of 1’04.324 on a set of soft tyres in a largely trouble-free session.

His team mate Oscar Piastri lapped a tenth of a second slower after damaging his McLaren’s floor when he ran wide at the exit of turn nine during the session. His McLaren mechanics made some quick repairs before he set his fastest time.

The McLaren pair exclusively ran the soft tyres but Max Verstappen didn’t touch them until the final 10 minutes. He used hard rubber for his first run. Verstappen’s best time on softs left him only two tenths of a second off Norris’s mark, though he had a quick 360-degree spin at the final corner as he tried to lower his best time.

Yuki Tsunoda also had a spin in the other Red Bull, at turn one. He continued without any problems and set the eighth-fastest time, albeit six tenths of a second slower than his team mate.

They were split by the two Ferrari and Mercedes drivers plus Lance Stroll, who again showed promising pace in his Aston Martin. Charles Leclerc was the quicker of the Ferrari drivers, just four hundredths of a second off Verstappen.

The Mercedes drivers did not look as competitive as they did when George Russell headed the opening practice session yesterday. He ended up sixth, almost seven tenths of a second off Norris, followed by team mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Stroll.

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Gabriel Bortoleto continued his strong start to the weekend with the 10th fastest time in his Sauber. Liam Lawson matched his time, but set it later, making him the quickest of the Racing Bulls drivers in 11th place after team mate Isack Hadjar spun at the final corner.

They were one of two pairs of drivers who set identical times to within a thousandth of a second around the shortest lap on the calendar. Oliver Bearman and Pierre Gasly did likewise.

Williams continued to lack pace, Alexander Albon barely lapping within a second of Norris’s time in 14th place, followed by Carlos Sainz Jnr. However Alpine was the slowest team in final practice: Franco Colapinto spun and Gasly complained Verstappen held him up at the last corner.

2025 Austrian Grand Prix Grand Prix third practice result

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2025 Austrian Grand Prix Grand Prix combined practice times

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2025 Austrian Grand Prix

• Norrsi felt more confident in 2025 car than ever after ‘close to perfect’ pole lap
• Russell avoids grid drop penalty for pit incident after ‘accidentally slipping clutch’
• Tsunoda mystified by car’s sudden change in balance before Q1 exit
• Red Bull told Verstappen yellow flag cost him third on the grid
• Norris claims pole as late yellow flag scuppers Piastri and Verstappen

Browse all 2025 Austrian Grand Prix articles