The new upgrades to the RB22 had to wait longer than expected to get running at the Red Bull Ring

Red Bull Racing’s home race in Austria did not get off to an ideal start as both Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar had troubles in the first free practice session on Friday.

Verstappen’s RB22 ground to a halt before he even reached the end of the pitlane at the Red Bull Ring, while Frenchman Hadjar also suffered technical gremlins, forcing him to miss the early running in the hour-long session.

With the team running a significant aerodynamic upgrade for the race, one which the Milton Keynes team hope will bring them back into contention to fight with the Mercedes, Ferrari and McLarens, the duo were able to get back out on track before the end as Verstappen set the fourth fastest time, nearly three tenths back of pace-setter Kimi Antonelli, while Hadjar was 12th, 1.6 seconds off the pace.

Verstappen said: “Austria is of course a home Grand Prix for the team. It’s been a great track for me in the past and we have had really good memories there. It’s a very interesting track and all of the corners are quite different, so it’s really important to get a good balance out of the car.

“We have a new package we are bringing, so it is exciting to see how much this could look to give us in lap time.”

Hadjar added: “Barcelona was a good indication of the progress we have made, and even though we had a setback with the start, I managed to extract some good pace from the car and put in a strong recovery drive.

“We're bringing a new package to Austria and, as with any upgrade, the key objective will be to understand it and maximise its potential throughout the weekend. Hopefully it'll take us closer to where we want to be, and we get to experience some good racing in front of our home support.”