- Austrian GP - FP2
Hamilton tops Rosberg in FP2
Lewis Hamilton led the way in second practice for the Austrian Grand Prix as Mercedes dominated its second session of the weekend at the Red Bull Ring.
Hamilton set the quickest time on his second timed lap on the super-soft tyres with a 1:09.542, which was 0.377s faster than team-mate Nico Rosberg could manage. Rosberg was faster in the fast first sector of the lap, but Hamilton was quicker in sectors two and three, which consist of eight of the circuit's nine corners.
Fernando Alonso was third fastest in the Ferrari, following up on the promising pace he showed in first practice, and 0.928s off the lead Mercedes. The Ferrari was just quicker than the two Williamses of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa, which again look competitive this weekend.
Sebastian Vettel was still struggling to get his Red Bull hooked up on its home circuit, setting the sixth fastest time, 1.265s off the pace of Hamilton. His first attempt at a quick lap saw him run very wide at Rindt (Turn 8) but he managed a cleaner lap on his second attempt. Nevertheless, after tasting victory in Canada, Red Bull will have hoped for more at the circuit carrying its name.
Several drivers were relying on the run-off area at Rindt - running with four wheels off the circuit even on quick laps - and race director Charlie Whiting is due to talk to drivers after the session. The corner is off camber and downhill, making it easy to carry too much speed through the apex and over the kerbs on the exit.
Jenson Button was seventh fastest despite reporting handling issues with his McLaren and labelling it "undriveable" while running with heavy fuel on a longer run. Daniel Ricciardo was eighth fastest in the Red Bull, but like team-mate Vettel was struggling to feel truly settled around the 2.7-mile Red Bull Ring.
Kevin Magnussen and Jean-Eric Vergne rounded out the top ten, with Kimi Raikkonen only fast enough for eleventh place for the second session in a row. The reason for the lack of pace was not clear, but he will have plenty of data to analyse after completing 45 laps over the course of the 90 minute session.
The Force Indias were the only two Mercedes-powered cars to finish the session outside the top 10, but if Canada is anything to go by their focus will have been on race pace and tyre management rather than nailing a single-lap.
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