Friday Practice at the Red Bull Ring: Mercedes in Command, Ferrari in the Shadows

The 2026 Austrian Grand Prix has opened with a clear pecking order: Mercedes are the dominant force on Friday at Spielberg, led by a Kimi Antonelli who looks increasingly comfortable in his role as championship leader. The young Italian, currently sitting atop the Drivers' standings, topped both free practice sessions and crowned his day with the best race pace recorded during the afternoon's long run simulations. A double statement that sends an unambiguous message to the paddock: the Silver Arrow is back, and it means business.

For Ferrari, however, Friday in Austria carried a bitter taste. The Maranello outfit had arrived at the Red Bull Ring on the crest of a wave following their victory in Spain, bringing with them a significant upgrade package that included a new power unit development. Expectations were high, but the circuit did not deliver the answers they were hoping for. It is a Friday best forgotten — and one that raises fresh questions about the SF-26's true competitiveness over race distance.

Antonelli Unstoppable: Breaking Down Mercedes' Race Pace

In the second free practice session — traditionally the one dedicated to race simulations on heavy fuel loads — Kimi Antonelli demonstrated a superiority that goes well beyond a single quick lap. Once the data was corrected for differing tyre compounds and varying stint lengths, the Bologna-born driver edged teammate George Russell by just 0.06 seconds per lap: a slim margin, certainly, but more than enough to confirm his status as the team's undisputed lead driver.

McLaren, while reaffirming their position as the second-quickest package, already find themselves 0.21 seconds per lap adrift of Mercedes' race pace. A gap that, extrapolated over the full race distance at the Red Bull Ring, could translate into a deficit of several seconds by the chequered flag. The Woking outfit's real Achilles' heel appears to be tyre degradation: the pace looks promising in the opening laps of each stint, only to fall away noticeably as the tyres age — a problem that could weigh heavily on their Sunday strategy.

Ferrari's Upgrade Headache: What Has Gone Wrong?

Now to the most painful chapter for Ferrari supporters. The Scuderia had chosen the Austrian GP to introduce a notable technical package, with revisions to both the chassis and the power unit. It was an eagerly anticipated upgrade, presented with confidence in the wake of the Barcelona victory that had reignited hopes of a championship fight still very much alive. Yet the Red Bull Ring appears to have deflated, at least for now, the ambitions of the Prancing Horse.

The issue is not so much in single-lap pace — where the Ferrari has shown genuine flashes of competitiveness — but rather in race simulation performance. The SF-26's long runs were underwhelming: data gathered during FP2 does not place Ferrari among the top three forces when it comes to race pace. That is a concern, because the Red Bull Ring rewards aerodynamic efficiency and tyre thermal management — two areas where the Scuderia is clearly still working but has not yet found the answers.

Several questions remain unanswered: has the power unit upgrade failed to deliver the expected gains? Are there integration issues between the new components and the rest of the car? Or is Spielberg simply a circuit that does not suit the SF-26's characteristics, in the same way that Barcelona happened to play to its strengths? The coming hours, between factory analysis and simulator work, will be crucial in identifying where improvements need to be made ahead of qualifying.

Pirelli's Warning: Are Two Pit Stops Now Inevitable?

Adding another layer of complexity to the teams' strategic planning is Pirelli, who, after analysing Friday's tyre usage data, have issued a clear warning: degradation levels could be high enough to make at least two pit stops necessary during the race. That would represent a significant shift from recent seasons, in which a single-stop strategy has often proved the winning call at Spielberg.

A two-stop race changes everything: it increases the importance of the undercut and overcut, multiplies strategic variables, and could shuffle the order in entirely unpredictable ways. For Ferrari, already struggling on outright pace, flawless strategy execution will be essential to avoid conceding even more ground to their rivals. For Antonelli and Mercedes, on the other hand, it could represent yet another opportunity to extend their championship advantage.

Hamilton's Situation and the Outlook for the Weekend

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari's other driver, must not be overlooked. The seven-time world champion is still searching for his perfect understanding with the SF-26 — a long and complex process that at times shows encouraging signs, only to slip back into uncertainty. At the Red Bull Ring, Hamilton worked intensively with his engineers to try to understand the limitations of the new package, but his Friday balance sheet makes for similarly uninspiring reading.

The hope is that, as has happened on other occasions throughout this season, Ferrari will manage to make a significant step between Friday and Saturday qualifying. The Scuderia have shown they can work effectively through the night, refining setup and balance to extract the maximum when it truly counts. But the gap exposed in the long runs is real, and bridging it in a matter of hours will be anything but straightforward.

Conclusions: A Friday That Opens Worrying Scenarios for Maranello

Friday at Spielberg presents Formula 1 in 2026 with a fairly clear picture: Mercedes are the team to beat, with Antonelli in superb form and Russell providing a solid supporting act. McLaren are the second force, but hampered by degradation concerns. Ferrari are in difficulty, at least over race distance, and the new upgrade does not appear to have delivered the anticipated benefits.

For the Tifosi, it is a bitter Friday — but the season is long and the championship remains open. Ferrari have the resources, the talent, and the determination to respond, as they proved in Spain just a few weeks ago. Now they need concrete answers: from Saturday qualifying and, above all, from Sunday's race. Spielberg can be unforgiving, but it can also spring surprises. And Ferrari, as everyone knows, have never been strangers to the extraordinary.

Source: Motorsport.com

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