Post
Lando Norris might be suffering from some mechanical issues which have stopped him getting out.
But the same can't be said for his team-mate Oscar Piastri who goes fourth fastest after hauling his McLaren to a 1:09.333.
'Hamilton has that spark again'
Abbie Eaton
British racing driver on Sports Extra 2
Lewis Hamilton is only 41 points behind Kimi Antonelli, so he's doing alright!
I think through this year we can see Lewis just seems to have his mojo back a little bit. He seems hungry for it. His off-season was tough, as he was probably starting to question things like should he retire.
But I think this has really given him that light again, that spark, to be in the fight for the championship.
Post
Max Verstappen's out on track and has made it further than being confined to the pit lane on his previous two attempts.
He sets a 1:09.043 which puts him third fastest, behind Kimi Antonelli - who regained top spot from George Russell shortly before Verstappen crossed the line.
Post
Max Verstappen's Red Bull has been pushed back into the garage for a second time.
He's made it about 10 metres down the road before his car's conked out again.
It's not the start to the weekend Red Bull will have wanted with Verstappen's team-mate Isack Hadjar also yet to set a time having had some hydraulic issues earlier in the session.
Antonelli quickest
Early days of course but championship leader Kimi Antonelli has just gone fastest in his Mercedes.
He sets the pace in FP1 with a 1:09.119.
His team-mate George Russell is 1.288 seconds behind as things stand before we really get into the flow of this session.
get involved
Get Involved - can Hamilton mount a title challenge?
Select the 'Get Involved' button to have your say
Jeff: If the Ferrari engine upgrade this weekend is as good as Ferrari believe it to be, they could hack down Mercedesâ straight line advantage. This, with their cornering performance (consistently the best this year) and Hamiltonâs experience and motivation, could launch them to the front of the grid. Championship on!
Ian: What a sweet way to win your 8th title if it happens. Age is just a number!
Post
Dear oh dear.
Max Verstappen hasn't even got onto the actual pit lane as his Red Bull comes to a halt.
"Every time I release the clutch I get anti-stall" he says over the team radio.
He's pushed back into the garage.
Post
Looks like some trouble with Lando Norris' car in the lead-up to the session beginning.
He's out of the car and it's up on the jacks in the McLaren garage and is being seen to with the floor off.
Meanwhile down the road at the Red Bull garage, Isack Hadjar's car needs some attention, too.
Follow the action across the BBC
BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2
It's not just my prose taking you through the action today.
You can listen to all the action in the first and second practice sessions on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2.
Harry Benjamin is in position to guide you through FP1 and he's joined by British racing driver Abbie Eaton and BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson.
To tune in to first practice, click the 'listen live' tab at the top of this page, head over to the BBC Sounds app if you're out and about today or ask your smart speaker to "play Sports Extra 2".
Six rookies taking part in FP1
Just like in Barcelona two weeks ago, F1 teams are putting rookie drivers in the car for this opening practice session in Spielberg on Friday.
Haas' Ryo Hirakawa is taking part for the first time this season while Briton Luke Browning is back in for Williams following his interrupted session in Spain - he was stuck in the garage with a technical issue - last time out.
Ferrari
Dino Beganovic - replaces Charles Leclerc
Racing Bulls
Ayumu Iwasa - replaces Liam Lawson
Haas
Ryo Hirakawa - replaces Esteban Ocon
Williams
Luke Browning - replaces Carlos Sainz
Audi
Paul Aron - replaces Gabriel Bortoleto
Aston Martin
Jak Crawford - replaces Lance Stroll
get involved
Get Involved
Select the 'Get Involved' button to have your say
He couldn't, could he?
Lewis Hamilton's looked mighty fine in his Ferrari of late, recording one victory and another three podium finishes so far this season.
But can the veteran mount a challenge to leader Kimi Antonelli and earn his eighth World Championship crown?
Let us know whether you think he can push on from his win in Barcelona or whether Kimi has it in the bag.
Select the 'get involved' button at the top of this page and send us your thoughts.
Mercedes withdraw Monaco Grand Prix appeal
On the topic of appeals and the Monaco Grand Prix..
Mercedes withdrew their appeal against the result of that race having earlier lodged a 'right of review' request with the FIA after Formula 1's governing body overturned Pierre Gasly for speeding in the pit lane.
Mercedes driver George Russell was among the five drivers to commit the same offence, which led to the Briton dropping from third to 12th in the final results.
In Alpine's appeal, it emerged that officials had measured the pit lane speed limit incorrectly, by using a longer distance for the pit lane than it was possible to drive.
Mercedes' right of review was due to be heard on 20 June, but the team decided not to press forward with the case on a number of grounds.
They concluded there was no viable mechanism for restoring Russell to where he could have finished, and it would not serve anybody to drag it all on.
McLaren appeal decision to overturn Gasly penalty
The controversy following last month's Monaco Grand Prix rumbles on.
Last week McLaren lodged an appeal against the decision to overturn Alpine driver Pierre Gasly's pit-lane speeding penalty at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Alpine won a right of appeal review against the penalty in the lead-up to the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix and the Frenchman was reinstalled in third place, having been demoted to seventh.
Governing body the FIA established in the Alpine hearing that the pit-lane speed limit had been miscalculated at Monaco.
A McLaren statement said: "This case raises important questions concerning sporting fairness, regulatory consistency and the integrity of competition.
"Throughout the Monaco Grand Prix weekend â and in every event - all teams operated according to the regulations and established standard practices for what concerns the speed limit in the pit lane as they were applied at the time.
"Competitors adjusted their procedures accordingly and, where required, accepted and served penalties imposed under those regulations.
"In our view, the subsequent removal of penalties creates a situation in which some competitors are disadvantaged by having acted in accordance with the rules and the Stewards' decisions."
Antonelli leads the pack
Here's the lay of the land in the driver's championship headed into this weekend.
Kimi Antonelli leads the pack ahead of Lewis Hamilton in second, while Antonelli's team-mate George Russell is third with the trio the only drivers to break the 100-point barrier after seven races.
There's a bit of a gap then to the fourth-placed Ferrari of Charles Leclerc with reigning world champion Lando Norris just five points behind him.
Still plenty to play for as the midway point of the 2026 season approaches.
Lando Norris might be suffering from some mechanical issues which have stopped him getting out.
But the same can't be said for his team-mate Oscar Piastri who goes fourth fastest after hauling his McLaren to a 1:09.333.
'Hamilton has that spark again'
Abbie Eaton
British racing driver on Sports Extra 2
Lewis Hamilton is only 41 points behind Kimi Antonelli, so he's doing alright!
I think through this year we can see Lewis just seems to have his mojo back a little bit. He seems hungry for it. His off-season was tough, as he was probably starting to question things like should he retire.
But I think this has really given him that light again, that spark, to be in the fight for the championship.
Post
Max Verstappen's out on track and has made it further than being confined to the pit lane on his previous two attempts.
He sets a 1:09.043 which puts him third fastest, behind Kimi Antonelli - who regained top spot from George Russell shortly before Verstappen crossed the line.
Post
Max Verstappen's Red Bull has been pushed back into the garage for a second time.
He's made it about 10 metres down the road before his car's conked out again.
It's not the start to the weekend Red Bull will have wanted with Verstappen's team-mate Isack Hadjar also yet to set a time having had some hydraulic issues earlier in the session.
Antonelli quickest
Early days of course but championship leader Kimi Antonelli has just gone fastest in his Mercedes.
He sets the pace in FP1 with a 1:09.119.
His team-mate George Russell is 1.288 seconds behind as things stand before we really get into the flow of this session.
get involved
Get Involved - can Hamilton mount a title challenge?
Select the 'Get Involved' button to have your say
Jeff: If the Ferrari engine upgrade this weekend is as good as Ferrari believe it to be, they could hack down Mercedesâ straight line advantage. This, with their cornering performance (consistently the best this year) and Hamiltonâs experience and motivation, could launch them to the front of the grid. Championship on!
Ian: What a sweet way to win your 8th title if it happens. Age is just a number!
Post
Dear oh dear.
Max Verstappen hasn't even got onto the actual pit lane as his Red Bull comes to a halt.
"Every time I release the clutch I get anti-stall" he says over the team radio.
He's pushed back into the garage.
Post
Looks like some trouble with Lando Norris' car in the lead-up to the session beginning.
He's out of the car and it's up on the jacks in the McLaren garage and is being seen to with the floor off.
Meanwhile down the road at the Red Bull garage, Isack Hadjar's car needs some attention, too.
Follow the action across the BBC
BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2
It's not just my prose taking you through the action today.
You can listen to all the action in the first and second practice sessions on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2.
Harry Benjamin is in position to guide you through FP1 and he's joined by British racing driver Abbie Eaton and BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson.
To tune in to first practice, click the 'listen live' tab at the top of this page, head over to the BBC Sounds app if you're out and about today or ask your smart speaker to "play Sports Extra 2".
Six rookies taking part in FP1
Just like in Barcelona two weeks ago, F1 teams are putting rookie drivers in the car for this opening practice session in Spielberg on Friday.
Haas' Ryo Hirakawa is taking part for the first time this season while Briton Luke Browning is back in for Williams following his interrupted session in Spain - he was stuck in the garage with a technical issue - last time out.
Ferrari
Dino Beganovic - replaces Charles Leclerc
Racing Bulls
Ayumu Iwasa - replaces Liam Lawson
Haas
Ryo Hirakawa - replaces Esteban Ocon
Williams
Luke Browning - replaces Carlos Sainz
Audi
Paul Aron - replaces Gabriel Bortoleto
Aston Martin
Jak Crawford - replaces Lance Stroll
get involved
Get Involved
Select the 'Get Involved' button to have your say
He couldn't, could he?
Lewis Hamilton's looked mighty fine in his Ferrari of late, recording one victory and another three podium finishes so far this season.
But can the veteran mount a challenge to leader Kimi Antonelli and earn his eighth World Championship crown?
Let us know whether you think he can push on from his win in Barcelona or whether Kimi has it in the bag.
Select the 'get involved' button at the top of this page and send us your thoughts.
Mercedes withdraw Monaco Grand Prix appeal
On the topic of appeals and the Monaco Grand Prix..
Mercedes withdrew their appeal against the result of that race having earlier lodged a 'right of review' request with the FIA after Formula 1's governing body overturned Pierre Gasly for speeding in the pit lane.
Mercedes driver George Russell was among the five drivers to commit the same offence, which led to the Briton dropping from third to 12th in the final results.
In Alpine's appeal, it emerged that officials had measured the pit lane speed limit incorrectly, by using a longer distance for the pit lane than it was possible to drive.
Mercedes' right of review was due to be heard on 20 June, but the team decided not to press forward with the case on a number of grounds.
They concluded there was no viable mechanism for restoring Russell to where he could have finished, and it would not serve anybody to drag it all on.
McLaren appeal decision to overturn Gasly penalty
The controversy following last month's Monaco Grand Prix rumbles on.
Last week McLaren lodged an appeal against the decision to overturn Alpine driver Pierre Gasly's pit-lane speeding penalty at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Alpine won a right of appeal review against the penalty in the lead-up to the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix and the Frenchman was reinstalled in third place, having been demoted to seventh.
Governing body the FIA established in the Alpine hearing that the pit-lane speed limit had been miscalculated at Monaco.
A McLaren statement said: "This case raises important questions concerning sporting fairness, regulatory consistency and the integrity of competition.
"Throughout the Monaco Grand Prix weekend â and in every event - all teams operated according to the regulations and established standard practices for what concerns the speed limit in the pit lane as they were applied at the time.
"Competitors adjusted their procedures accordingly and, where required, accepted and served penalties imposed under those regulations.
"In our view, the subsequent removal of penalties creates a situation in which some competitors are disadvantaged by having acted in accordance with the rules and the Stewards' decisions."
Antonelli leads the pack
Here's the lay of the land in the driver's championship headed into this weekend.
Kimi Antonelli leads the pack ahead of Lewis Hamilton in second, while Antonelli's team-mate George Russell is third with the trio the only drivers to break the 100-point barrier after seven races.
There's a bit of a gap then to the fourth-placed Ferrari of Charles Leclerc with reigning world champion Lando Norris just five points behind him.
Still plenty to play for as the midway point of the 2026 season approaches.
