World championship leader Kimi Antonelli delivered a commanding performance in Austrian Grand Prix practice, completing the Friday double with victory in both sessions at the Red Bull Ring. The 19-year-old Italian edged Mercedes teammate George Russell by just four hundredths of a second in the opening session, then stretched clear in FP2 with a time of 1:07.014s.

Antonelli's FP2 margin of 0.237s over Oscar Piastri was particularly impressive given it came on his second flying lap with worn soft tyres. Russell could manage only sixth place, more than six tenths off his teammate's pace. Max Verstappen took fourth in his upgraded Red Bull, while Lewis Hamilton struggled to match his Barcelona-winning form in fifth.

The performance reasserts Antonelli's title favorite status after his championship lead over Hamilton was cut to 41 points following retirement in Spain. Russell, sitting third in the standings 50 points behind, expressed concern about McLaren's pace rather than his teammate's advantage.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri admitted they were "a step behind" Mercedes, while teammate Lando Norris showed strong race pace. Meanwhile, Cadillac's difficult debut weekend continued with Sergio Perez stopping on track and Valtteri Bottas suffering a pit lane fire.