Mercedes Formula 1 junior George Russell topped the timesheet from DAMS’ Alexander Albon in a tricky Formula 2 practice at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
The majority of drivers suffered off-track excursions during the 45-minute session, with Turns 1, 3 and 9 all proving challenging.
Despite finishing top, Russell explored the run-off area at the slow speed right-hander Turn 3 on his first lap.
However, a 1m14.159s on his third tour propelled him to the top of the timesheet by 0.3s.
In an attempt to lower the benchmark, ART Grand Prix’s Russell posted a session-best time in sector two before running wide at the high-speed Turn 9 and aborting the lap.
DAMS’ Albon, who has secured three poles from the five F2 qualifying sessions in 2018, eroded Russell’s advantage at the top of the timesheet.
Albon eventually finished the session 0.162s adrift in second place, ahead of MP Motorsport’s Roberto Merhi in third.
Sergio Sette Camara briefly topped the session early on. The Carlin driver slipped to fourth place by the chequered flag.
McLaren F1 juniors Nyck de Vries and Lando Norris finished in fifth and sixth. The pair were separated by less than 0.030s. De Vries had two off-track moments during the session, while championship leader Norris mirrored Russell’s mistake at Turn 3 early on.
Charouz Racing System’s Antonio Fuoco made a late improvement to seventh place. His best lap was set on soft tyres that had already completed 13 laps, and only 0.018s behind Noris.
Russian Time’s Artem Markelov endured several off-track excursions. He twice explored the run-off area at Turn 1, ran wide at Turn 3 and dramatically bounced over the ‘sausage’ kerbs at Turn 9.
ART’s Jack Aitken had a similarly dramatic practice. He lost nearly 20 minutes of running early on after tangling wheels with Campos’s Roy Nissany on the straight between Turns 1 and 2.
The incident is being investigated. Nissany was out of the session with rear suspension damage. Aitken’s front suspension was repaired and he re-emerged with 20 minutes remaining.
After grabbing ninth place, Aitken twice set personal best sector times before running off-track in the final sector. He was unable to improve any further as a result.
Arden International’s Maximilian Gunther rounded out the top 10. His team-mate Nirei Fukuzumi pulled over at Turn 4 in the closing minutes of the session. The cause of the stoppage is yet unknown. He was 14th on the timesheet.
Nicholas Latifi, who ended the session in 19th, stalled during the scheduled practice starts on the grid after the chequered flag.
