Mercedes dominated the practice sessions ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fastest in the first practice, leading teammate George Russell in a Mercedes one-two as rivals suffered reliability issues. Russell later denied Antonelli a clean sweep by posting the quickest time in Saturday's third and final practice, despite working through a braking issue.
Russell went on to secure back-to-back pole positions during a chaotic qualifying session on Saturday. He took the top spot on the final lap of the session, finishing ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who both finished closely behind him.
The qualifying results ended in controversy, as Russell was credited with pole position despite a yellow flag caused by a dramatic crash by Max Verstappen.