George Russell was fastest from Max Verstappen in first practice for the Austrian Grand Prix as Irish teenager Alex Dunne impressed on his McLaren debut.

Canada race-winner Russell, who revealed to Sky Sports F1 that Mercedes are talking to Verstappen about the Dutchman’s future, pipped his rival by 0.065s on Red Bull’s home track.

Championship leader Oscar Piastri was third and Dunne, who replaced Lando Norris for the first session in Austria, impressively took fourth and was only a quarter of a second off pace-setter Russell.

F1 teams must fulfil a rule which requires them to run a rookie in at least four practice sessions during the season, so McLaren took the opportunity to give Dunne a chance to shine and he certainly caught the attention of the paddock.

Dunne, 19, leads the Formula 2 championship and became the first Irish driver to compete in an F1 race weekend since Ralph Firman in 2003.

“I want to say a massive thank you. A little boy’s dream came true, and this is definitely the best day of my life,” said Dunne on the radio after the session.

“Thank you everyone for letting me do this, and thanks to Lando as well for trusting me with his car.”

Born on November 11, 2005 in Offaly, Dunne rose up the karting and single-seater ranks with some impressive campaigns, including finishing runner-up to Kimi Antonelli in Italian F4.

He is the current F2 championship leader and underlined his quality with an “impressive” practice debut according to McLaren team principal Andrea Stella.

“Alex has been quite diligent and impressive. And then he also had the chance to show some speed and, no surprise, he is a fast driver, Stella told Sky Sports F1.

“I think we need to be a bit careful looking at the lap times, because his came later on in the stint when the fuel was down.

“But I think encouraging and impressive in terms of Alex himself, and also I think a good session for McLaren.”

Lewis Hamilton suffered a gearbox issue mid-way through the session and was ninth as Ferrari brought a new floor to Austria in an attempt to bridge their deficit to the front-runners.

Ferrari also ran a rookie with Dino Beganovic driving in place of Charles Leclerc, who will return with Norris for second practice later on Friday at 4pm, live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was fifth and Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto in sixth with the midfield teams sensing a chance to grab points due to the closeness of the field due to the short lap time in Austria.

Williams pair Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz were seventh and eighth, with Hamilton and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar rounding out the top 10.

Fernando Alonso had a big spin at the final corner but avoided the barriers to finish 14th with the top 19 separated by just one second.

Sky Sports F1’s Austrian GP schedule

Friday June 27
1.55pm: F3 Qualifying*
2.50pm: F2 Qualifying*
3.35pm: Austrian GP Practice Two (session starts at 4pm)*
5.15pm: The F1 Show*

Saturday June 28
9am: F3 Sprint
11.15pm: Austrian GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Austrian GP Qualifying build-up*
3pm: AUSTRIAN GP QUALIFYING*
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Sunday June 29
7.25am: F3 Feature Race
8.55am: F2 Feature Race
10.40am: Porsche Supercup
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Austrian GP build-up*
2pm: THE AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Chequered Flag: Austrian GP reaction*
5pm: Ted’s Notebook

*also on Sky Sports Main Event

Next up for the 2025 Formula 1 season is a return to Europe for the Austrian Grand Prix, which is live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.