Lando Norris leads Friday practice in Austria: “We’ve made more progress, I feel good”. Lando Norris leads FP2 at the Austrian GP as McLaren impress with pace and updates.

McLaren started the Austrian Grand Prix weekend strongly, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri showing great form just weeks after their clash in the closing stages of the Canadian GP. The team also debuted a new upgrade package at the Red Bull Ring. Norris topped FP2 with a time of 1:04.580, edging teammate Oscar Piastri by just over a tenth of a second. Earlier in FP1, McLaren’s surprising standout was rookie Alex Dunne, who ended the session in fourth place.

Lando Norris growing in confidence with the MCL39
It was a productive Friday for the British team and especially for Norris, who looked to bounce back from his Montreal mistake with a strong performance: “It was a good day on track to start the weekend,” he said. “I had to make up for some lost time in FP2, but Alex did a good job this morning giving the team important feedback on where to improve the car. We’ve made more positive steps forward, so I feel good, but I’ll work with the team overnight to make sure I feel completely comfortable on the limit tomorrow.”

Oscar Piastri close to perfection
Oscar Piastri, though more concise in his comments, expressed near-total satisfaction with his day: “It’s been a good weekend. The pace looks strong and the car feels good. There are a few things to work on overnight to maximise qualifying, but overall I’m happy and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Applause for Dunne
A special mention goes to 19-year-old Alex Dunne, part of the McLaren Young Driver Programme, who made his official F1 debut in FP1. The Formula 2 championship leader surprised many by finishing fourth in the session: “I’m really happy with how today went,” he said. “I knew the goal wasn’t performance but executing a test plan to help the team prepare for the weekend, so it was great to show some pace in the end. The session itself was smooth and clean. Running the aero rakes at the start gave us valuable data to support comparisons. I was able to apply everything I learned from TPC testing and the simulator. Big thanks to Zak, Andrea, Alessandro, Stephanie, Warren, and everyone at McLaren for preparing me so well and giving me this chance. As I said on the radio, today a childhood dream came true.”