***RacerViews coverage of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship was on hold so our team could enjoy some time away, please enjoy our post-session recaps before the 2024 British Grand Prix this weekend***
A mid-session stoppage wasn’t enough to stop championship leader Verstappen as he topped the timesheets during the only practice session of the weekend as teams quickly acclimated themselves for the third Sprint Race Weekend of 2024. The Dutchman suddenly came to a halt on the start/finish straight with an “engine fault” error that saw marshals quickly put out the red flags in an attempt to recover the stricken Red Bull. Once back in the pits, the team were able to reset the error and Verstappen continued on to set the quickest laps of the session in the final 10 minutes of running, laying down a 1:05.685s lap ahead of Oscar Piastri and the Ferrari duo of Charles LeClerc and Carlos Sainz.
HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the FP1 action from Austria as Verstappen goes fastest after bringing out red flags
With only an hours practice all teams were keen to test every compound of tire during the session. Mercedes in particular, off of a strong weekend in Spain, were quick to hit the ground running, setting the pace early in the session with both cars as Hamilton led from Russell with both Red Bulls behind them. However, after Verstappen’s red flag period and a quick reset, the duo quickly fell to fifth and eighth on the time sheets as Verstappen, Piastri, and the Ferrari’s pushed them down the order with the quickest times of the day.
Still hot from Spain, Esteban Ocon pulled his Alpine into the top 10 on the sheets with the 6th quickest time of the day ahead of Lance Stroll and Russell, while Yuki Tsunoda and Fernando Alonso rounded out the final positions at the top.
With Sprint qualifying up next it’s all hands on deck to prepare for the first of two qualifying sessions this weekend. Tune in at 16:30 local time to catch all the action live.
FORMULA 1 QATAR AIRWAYS AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX 2024 Schedule
| Date | Session | Time (Local Circuit) |
| June 28th | Practice 1 | 12:30 – 13:30 |
| Sprint Qualifying | 16:30 – 17:14 | |
| June 29th | Sprint Shootout | 13:30 |
| Qualifying | 16:00 – 17:00 | |
| June 30th | Race | 15:00 |
Free Practice 1 Results:
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:05.685 | 28 | |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:05.961 | 0.276s | 32 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:06.055 | 0.370s | 31 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:06.128 | 0.443s | 31 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:06.254 | 0.569s | 39 |
| 6 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:06.297 | 0.612s | 30 |
| 7 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:06.384 | 0.699s | 27 |
| 8 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:06.386 | 0.701s | 32 |
| 9 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:06.579 | 0.894s | 30 |
| 10 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:06.603 | 0.918s | 30 |
| 11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:06.734 | 1.049s | 28 |
| 12 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:06.783 | 1.098s | 24 |
| 13 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:06.880 | 1.195s | 30 |
| 14 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:06.919 | 1.234s | 28 |
| 15 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:06.925 | 1.240s | 29 |
| 16 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:06.962 | 1.277s | 31 |
| 17 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 1:06.966 | 1.281s | 31 |
| 18 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:06.995 | 1.310s | 28 |
| 19 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:07.145 | 1.460s | 31 |
| 20 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:07.259 | 1.574s | 29 |
