Esteban Ocon is flying towards Turn One on a hot lap on the softs but there's a bit too much speed in the Haas for the Frenchman to control, so he goes straight on to the run-off area. "Flat spot, front-left, I think," Ocon tells his race engineer.

Championship leader Oscar Piastri is flow-vis'd up in the McLaren, the bright green paint gathering vital information on those Austria updates. The majority of the field are on the soft compound now, and the Australian is sitting in third spot, 0.155 seconds shy of George Russell's quickest time. Max Verstappen is the middle man between the pair, with the Dutchman's marker just 0.065s off the Mercedes of Russell.

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI

Image source, Getty Images

Alex Dunne's journey has been one of graft and hard work to reach this level.

His father, Noel, was a former racer in Ireland but Dunne's career hasn't been bankrolled by millionaires like some young racers.

There has been a lot of last-minute deals to go racing and limited testing, but his potential was spotted by McLaren, who signed him as a development driver last year.

With their support, Dunne has been able to race at the front and has not only been given this F1 chance on merit, but as a development opportunity for the future.

McLaren believe in the 19-year-old, despite having Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri locked down for the foreseeable future, and this is the latest step in an exciting journey.

Fernando Alonso is the lastest driver to take on the C5 soft compound but as the Spaniard reaches Turn 10, his Aston Martin is sent into a spin because of his cold tyres. "That was the worst out lap we can do," Alonso tells his pit wall.

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Hamilton back out so Ferrari hoping that that gearbox issue has been sorted because he is back out going around. The track is fairly busy with over three quarter of the grid out on track.

Alex Dunne is off the mark. The 19-year-old has been stuck in the garage but now McLaren release him for a proper run out, on hard tyres, to bank his first time of the session. The Irishman clocks a 1:07.196 to go 19th on the board.

Lando Norris is watching the rookie from the pit wall, but now he's got wet pants, as team principal Andrea Stella has just dropped water all over him.

1. George Russell (Mercedes) - 1:05.776 (soft)

2. Carlos Sainz (Williams) +0.241

3. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.354

4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.568

5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.713

Rosanna Tennant
5 Live F1 reporter at Red Bull Ring

Getting to work straight away [on Hamilton's car] to try and fix whatever problem is hampering the Ferrari with the gearbox, bit of tinkering starting already.

This is not looking good for Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton asks his engineer of there is a problem with the car. "Issue with the gearbox," comes the reply. Meanwhile, rookie Dino Beganovic has to twiddle his thumbs in the garage, as the mechanics are working hard on his (Charles Leclerc's) car.

At Mercedes, George Russell has bolted on the softs and the Briton goes back to the top spot, above Carlos Sainz, with a 1:05.776.

Rosanna Tennant
5 Live F1 reporter at Red Bull Ring

I've been watching Lewis Hamilton's side of the garage, they've removed the aero rakes that were on his Ferrari. Hamilton has now left the pits.

Yesterday when he was asked about the upgrades, he said don't expect too much to change.

He was keen to point out he's more focussed on the changes taking place in the background, putting the foundations in place for them to have a good 2026 - that's the mindset of the seven-time world champion.

Alex Albon was talking on Thursday about how Williams want to be top of the midfield, which they are, so that if a crazy race presents itself and a podium is there for the taking, it's them who claims it. Albon's team-mate Carlos Sainz is out on some mediums and shoots straight to the top of the timesheets with a 1:06.017.

Over at Red Bull, the second car continues to cause Yuki Tsunoda a mild headache. The Japanese driver suffers a lock-up at Turn Three on his latest run - Tsunoda is on the hard compound - and tells his engineer the brakes are "really poor".

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Working with your race engineer is such a special relationship, they're on the end of the phone. They're the ones that will be talking to you whether you have a problem, need advice or instructions. That relationship is important. If you've not quite gelled with the person that is your eyes and ears on the outside, then it can be quite difficult to make progress.

Rejoice! Kimi Antonelli doesn't have to worry about school and homework anymore. The Italian teenager is free to concentrate on racing after passing his all of his exams. He claimed his first podum in Montreal two weeks ago but the early minutes of first practice in Spielberg are a bit of a challenge, as he tells engineer Bono he is "struggling with the front locking".

It's looking positive Mercedes, though, as Antonelli is about two tenths off team-mate George Russell in second. Both drivers on the hard tyre.

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

[Verstappen] did [run wide] and he was raising his hands there, there wasn't any traffic in front of him. But he made a little mistake and actually I was keeping an eye on the F2 session and a lot of the drivers were struggling with entry oversteer - I wonder if Max had something similar?

Canada winner George Russell, who secured a perfect weekend last time out with pole, the race win and the fastest lap, is top of the timesheets on the hard rubber with a 1:06.537. Behind the Mercedes driver is the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll and his team-mate Kimi Antonelli.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen is not quite comfortable with his Red Bull. He's on the radio to address his concerns, just as he goes second on the timesheets on his medium flyer behind George Russell.

Rosanna Tennant
5 Live F1 reporter at Red Bull Ring

I was having a chat with McLaren technical director of engineering Neil Houldey and in Canada they introduced some mechanical changes which actually provided aerodynamic changes but here they are purely aerodynamic changes. It'll be interesting to see who goes for what. There are options available to both drivers.

Last year's Austrian Grand Prix came to life towards the conclusion of the race, when Max Verstappen and Lando Norris tangled with each other, after a few laps of brawling, which then opened the door for George Russell to say 'thank you very much' and take victory.

Today, Verstappen is out on the mediums first. But as he reaches Turn Three, the inside line is off-limits to the Dutchman, and he ends up running slightly wide. Possibly because of the car in front.

For Alex Dunne, radio communications are causing issues already. "I can hear three people on the radio at once," says the teenager.

The paddock was battered by wind and rain during yesterday's media day. That seems to have cleared up now, but we could see some light showers on Friday, with temperatures about 26C.

Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race, which starts at 15:00 local time, appear much more settled - and warm. Sunny conditions will be present on both days, with Sunday the warmest of the weekend, with a high of 30C.

Rosanna Tennant
5 Live F1 reporter at Red Bull Ring

We've got a young Irish driver in instead of Lando Norris, It's Alex Dunne, 19 years old and he's just left the pits. It's a tricky session for Alex, lots of aero rakes across his McLaren car. They're going to be testing the upgrades they brought to the track this weekend. expect both cars to be coming in and out of the pits. Upgrades available to both Piastri and Norris this weekend.