Russell finds late pace to top Antonelli, Hamilton in final Austria practice

George Russell produced a late burst of pace to top final practice at the Austrian Grand Prix from his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli.

World championship leader Antonelli topped both of Friday's practices at the Red Bull Ring and appeared to be further separating himself from his rivals for much of Saturday's session, before the script flipped as his closest title challengers came to life in the closing stages.

First, Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton closed within a tenth of Antonelli, then Russell, who had looked out of sorts for most of the session, delivered a lap of 1:07.096s to go 0.038s clear of his team-mate, setting up a potentially enthralling qualifying contest later on Saturday.

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Antonelli leads Hamilton by 41 points at the top of the standings, with Russell a further nine points back in third. The 19-year-old Italian had claimed the first five victories of his career in succession before Hamilton claimed his first win for Ferrari last time out in Barcelona.

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Oscar Piastri was almost a quarter of a second off the pace in fourth as he edged out his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen marginally behind them in sixth.

Charles Leclerc once more struggled to match his Ferrari team-mate Hamilton as he was more than three tenths off Russell's leading time in seventh.

Max Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar was eight tenths off the pace in eighth, while Racing Bulls duo Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.

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Austrian GP Practice Three Timesheet

Driver

Team

Time

1) George Russell

Mercedes

1:07.096

2) Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

+0.038

3) Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

+0.115

4) Oscar Piastri

McLaren

+0.248

5) Lando Norris

McLaren

+0.264

6) Max Verstappen

Red Bull

+0.273

7) Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

+0.356

8) Isack Hadjar

Red Bull

+0.816

9) Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls

+0.935

10) Arvid Lindblad

Racing Bulls

+1.013

11) Pierre Gasly

Alpine

+1.097

12) Nico Hulkenberg

Audi

+1.207

13) Gabriel Bortoleto

Audi

+1.215

14) Franco Colapinto

Alpine

+1.298

15) Oliver Bearman

Haas

+1.433

16) Esteban Ocon

Haas

+1.611

17) Carlos Sainz

Williams

+1.747

18) Alex Albon

Williams

+1.896

19) Sergio Perez

Cadillac

+2.436

20) Valtteri Bottas

Cadillac

+2.644

21) Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin

+3.325

22) Lance Stroll

Aston Martin

+3.471

Sky Sports F1's live Austrian GP schedule

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Saturday June 27

1.10pm: F2 Sprint

2.15pm: Austrian GP Qualifying build-up*

3pm: AUSTRIAN GP QUALIFYING*

5pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook

Sunday June 28

7.35am: F3 Feature Race

9.05am: F2 Feature Race

10.50am: Porsche Supercup

12.30pm: Austrian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*

2pm: THE AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX*

4pm: Austrian GP reaction: Chequered Flag

5pm: Ted's Notebook

*Also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1's European season continues with the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime