P1racenews AI automatic summary:
McLaren maintained its strong Austrian GP form as Lando Norris headed final practice on Saturday morning – but rivals drew closer
Lando Norris continued his strong performance by leading a McLaren 1-2 in final practice at the Austrian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and both Ferraris showed improvements, narrowing the gap between the orange cars and the rest of the field.
Norris set the fastest time of the weekend with a 1m04.324s lap, dominating the session with a significant lead over his competitors.
Despite some challenges, including repairs to his McLaren, team-mate Oscar Piastri secured the second spot, just 0.108s behind Norris.
Verstappen finished third, showing struggles in the high-speed corners, while Ferrari displayed a much stronger performance in FP3 with Leclerc briefly in second place.
The battle in the midfield was tight, with Hamilton in fifth, followed closely by Russell, Antonelli, and Stroll. Alonso to Gasly in the 17th position were separated by just 0.123s, indicating a fierce competition to advance from Q1.
