Hamilton and Mercedes remain on top in FP2

Lewis Hamilton topped free practice two for the Austrian Grand Prix ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel. A 1:04:579 put him almost two tenths clear of anybody else, a time he set on the soft tyres which are the hardest compound available this weekend.

Grey clouds threatened rain which never materialised, and it was Mercedes who continued their strong start to the weekend.

Fernando Alonso’s session was delayed after the Spaniard ran over the unforgiving kerbs and damaged his floor, requiring it to be replaced by the team.

A red flag appeared briefly after the Toro Rosso of Pierre Gasly broke his suspension on the unforgiving yellow kerbs at turn nine.

Red Bull might be worried already about the race, their pace during their long runs wasn’t competitive compared to their rivals, Ferrari look comfortable however on race pace.

Gasly was able to get back out on track after the Toro Rosso mechanics worked double fast to get the Frenchman back out.

Lots of drivers struggled with tyres and a lack of grip however, run-off areas were regularly explored by several as they looked to push the limits as they all prepare for qualifying.

Haas might expect a fine for an unsafe release of Kevin Magnussen in the final five minutes of the session, the team telling the Dane urgently to stop the car before he left the pitlane.

The teams will have a lot to think about strategy-wise as the ultrasoft tyres do not look like a favourable option for the race and teams may well stick to supersofts and change onto softs.