Lewis Hamilton was quickest again in the second practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix. The two Mercedes had topped to the timing screens in the morning, proving that very little had changed in the three months between pre-season testing and the delayed first race of the year.
Red Bull had been expected to form the main challenge at their “home” track where Max Verstappen has won the last two races in Austria.
Scuderia Ferrari had kept their cards close to their chest in the morning by virtue of conducting race work on the medium and hard compound tyres.
They were under no illusions though as to where they might shake down in the pack after a difficult testing fortnight in Barcelona and their fastest lap was a full six tenths of a second slower than Mercedes.
Ferrari have brought a car without updates to Austria because, according to team boss Mattia Binotto, they have been getting it wrong in terms of development.
“The truth is that the outcome of the tests led us to take a significant change of direction in terms of development, especially on the aerodynamic front,” Binotto said.
Results (Classification):
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:04.304
Valtteri Bottas Mercedes +0.197
Sergio Perez Racing Point +0.641
Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +0.657
Daniel Ricciardo Renault +0.668
Lando Norris McLaren +0.783
Lance Stroll Racing Point +0.831
Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.911
Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.994
Carlos Sainz McLaren +1.048
Esteban Ocon Renault +1.111
Daniil Kvyat Alpha Tauri +1.139
Alex Albon Red Bull Racing +1.149
Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo +1.304
Kevin Magnussen Haas +1.374
Romain Grosjean Haas +1.604
Pierre Gasly Alpha Tauri +1.712
George Russell Williams +1.821
Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo +1.974
Nicholas Latifi Williams +2.820






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