Formula 1 has confirmed the key session times for the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix weekend as Lando Norris and the rest of the grid return to the Red Bull Ring. The Spielberg event begins with Friday practice before qualifying on Saturday and the 71-lap race on Sunday, June 28.
The official schedule puts Free Practice 1 at 13:30 local time on Friday, June 26, with Free Practice 2 following at 17:00. Saturday brings final practice at 12:30 and qualifying at 16:00, before Sunday’s Grand Prix begins at 15:00 local time. It is the first reference point for teams trying to plan run programmes around a short, high-speed lap.
Norris returns to a McLaren happy hunting ground
The timing update is routine, but the context is not. F1’s own preview notes that Norris and Oscar Piastri completed a McLaren one-two in Austria last year, making the Red Bull Ring a natural form checkpoint for the team.
Warm and dry conditions are currently expected, which should put track temperature and tyre management high on the weekend agenda. That matters at a short lap where small mistakes can look bigger than usual in qualifying.
The full session timings and viewing details were published in Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix guide, which also flags a warm, dry forecast that could push teams towards a tyre-management weekend.
