Italian Antonio Giovinazzi was back on form as the FIA European Formula 3 Championship arrived in Austria. The Jagonya Ayam with Carlin driver had been off the pace in recent rounds but ended up fastest in both practice sessions at the Red Bull Ring.
Jake Dennis outlined the pace that Carlin have this weekend by posting the second fastest time in the opening session, just ahead of championship leader Esteban Ocon of Prema Powerteam. 0.027s covered the top three drivers in practice one.
Briton Tom Blomqvist was fourth for Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, ahead of two more Prema Powerteam drivers Antonio Fuoco and Dennis van de Laar, while Jordan King of Carlin and Nicolas Latifi of Prema Powerteam were seventh and eighth.
The Mücke Motorsport duo of Lucas Auer and Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top ten and were the first non-Carlin or Prema drivers in the opening session, which Max Verstappen, impressive throughout his debut year in single seater cars, was only eleventh for Van Amersfoort Racing.
Giovinazzi once again led the way in session two, with Ocon his closest competitor this time around ahead of Dennis. King improved to fourth ahead of Verstappen and Blomqvist, while van de Laar and Fuoco were seventh and eighth.
Ed Jones was ninth quickest in session two for Carlin on his return to the series from the back injury he suffered in a crash at Pau, while Auer placed tenth.
GP3 Series driver Alfonso Celis Jr is making his debut in the series this weekend for Fortec Motorsports, replacing Mitch Gilbert, while Double R Racing are absent after failing to find a driver to replace Felipe Guimaraes, who has left the team.
Red Bull Ring Practice 1 Times
| POS | DRIVER | NAT | TEAM | TIME |
| 1 | Antonio Giovinazzi | ITA | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:25.843 |
| 2 | Jake Dennis | GBR | Carlin | 1:25.867 |
| 3 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | Prema Powerteam | 1:25.870 |
| 4 | Tom Blomqvist | GBR | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:26.014 |
| 5 | Antonio Fuoco | ITA | Prema Powerteam | 1:26.074 |
| 6 | Dennis van de Laar | NED | Prema Powerteam | 1:26.275 |
| 7 | Jordan King | GBR | Carlin | 1:26.278 |
| 8 | Nicholas Latifi | CAN | Prema Powerteam | 1:26.377 |
| 9 | Lucas Auer | AUT | Mücke Motorsport | 1:26.488 |
| 10 | Felix Rosenqvist | SWE | Mücke Motorsport | 1:26.488 |
| 11 | Max Verstappen | NED | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:26.646 |
| 12 | Gustavo Menezes | USA | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:26.809 |
| 13 | Alexander Toril | ESP | ThreeBond with T-Sport | 1:26.823 |
| 14 | Ed Jones | UAE | Carlin | 1:26.845 |
| 15 | Felix Serralles | PUE | Team West-Tec F3 | 1:26.934 |
| 16 | Roy Nissany | ISR | Mücke Motorsport | 1:27.044 |
| 17 | Sandro Zeller | SWI | Jo Zeller Racing | 1:27.051 |
| 18 | Sean Galael | INO | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:27.078 |
| 19 | Hector Hurst | GBR | Team West-Tec F3 | 1:27.150 |
| 20 | Tatiana Calderon | COL | Jo Zeller Racing | 1:27.163 |
| 21 | Richard Goddard | AUS | ThreeBond with T-Sport | 1:27.182 |
| 22 | Santino Ferrucci | USA | EuroInternational | 1:27.315 |
| 23 | Jules Szymkowiak | NED | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:27.379 |
| 24 | Michele Beretta | ITA | EuroInternational | 1:27.407 |
| 25 | John Bryant-Meisner | SWE | Fortec Motorsports | 1:27.757 |
| 26 | Alfonso Celis Jr | MEX | Fortec Motorsports | 1:28.259 |
Red Bull Ring Practice 2 Times
| POS | DRIVER | NAT | TEAM | TIME |
| 1 | Antonio Giovinazzi | ITA | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:25.347 |
| 2 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | Prema Powerteam | 1:25.441 |
| 3 | Jake Dennis | GBR | Carlin | 1:25.486 |
| 4 | Jordan King | GBR | Carlin | 1:25.526 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | NED | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:25.638 |
| 6 | Tom Blomqvist | GBR | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:25.837 |
| 7 | Dennis van de Laar | NED | Prema Powerteam | 1:25.858 |
| 8 | Antonio Fuoco | ITA | Prema Powerteam | 1:25.877 |
| 9 | Ed Jones | UAE | Carlin | 1:25.962 |
| 10 | Lucas Auer | AUT | Mücke Motorsport | 1:25.983 |
| 11 | Roy Nissany | ISR | Mücke Motorsport | 1:26.051 |
| 12 | Gustavo Menezes | USA | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:26.102 |
| 13 | Felix Serralles | PUE | Team West-Tec F3 | 1:26.112 |
| 14 | Sean Galael | INO | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:26.141 |
| 15 | Felix Rosenqvist | SWE | Mücke Motorsport | 1:26.147 |
| 16 | Nicholas Latifi | CAN | Prema Powerteam | 1:26.189 |
| 17 | Tatiana Calderon | COL | Jo Zeller Racing | 1:26.313 |
| 18 | Santino Ferrucci | USA | EuroInternational | 1:26.421 |
| 19 | Jules Szymkowiak | NED | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:26.459 |
| 20 | Richard Goddard | AUS | ThreeBond with T-Sport | 1:26.481 |
| 21 | Alexander Toril | ESP | ThreeBond with T-Sport | 1:26.610 |
| 22 | Alfonso Celis Jr | MEX | Fortec Motorsports | 1:26.943 |
| 23 | Hector Hurst | GBR | Team West-Tec F3 | 1:26.952 |
| 24 | Michele Beretta | ITA | EuroInternational | 1:27.171 |
| 25 | Sandro Zeller | SWI | Jo Zeller Racing | 1:27.273 |
| 26 | John Bryant-Meisner | SWE | Fortec Motorsports | 1:27.457 |
