Following Friday practice at the Austrian Grand Prix, Mercedes has firmly established itself as the team to beat—led by championship leader Kimi Antonelli. The Italian topped the timesheets in both the first and second free practice sessions while also delivering the strongest long-run pace.
Traditionally, the second practice session shifts the focus towards long runs with high fuel loads, providing valuable insight into race pace and tyre degradation. Antonelli emerged as the fastest driver, finishing 0.06 seconds per lap ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell after correcting for different tyre compounds and stint lengths.
McLaren fielded the second-fastest long-run package but already trailed by an adjusted 0.21 seconds per lap. Above all, excessive tyre degradation proved to be the reigning world champions' biggest weakness, despite showing competitive pace at the beginning of each stint.
