The Irishman – who currently leads the F2 Championship – delivered a flawless first session in Formula 1 to finish P4, within a tenth of team-mate and Championship leader Oscar Piastri, with FP1 pacesetter George Russell just two-tenths up the road.

George Russell followed up his victory in Canada with a fast start to the Austrian Grand Prix weekend as the Mercedes driver topped first practice ahead of Max Verstappen.

That means there are opportunities for teams to use FP1 as a driver development session for a “rookie” driver, and McLaren announced on Monday they will do just that. Alex Dunne, a member of the team’s drive development program,