Austria – Free Practice 2: Hamilton on Top, Alonso Struggling
As this morning, the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas dominated the session ahead of a lurking Sebastian Vettel. The Red Bull drivers, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, are struggling with the balance of their cars, while Fernando Alonso was long immobilized in his garage due to various issues with his McLaren.
This morning, for the first practice session of this Austrian weekend, the Mercedes confirmed their good form by taking the top spots, with Lewis Hamilton ahead of Valtteri Bottas. The engine improvements introduced at the Castellet last week, along with the aerodynamic upgrades the German team brought this weekend, currently place the two Silver Arrows in a dominant position.
The rain did not disrupt this morning’s session even though the sky was threatening. Conditions remain roughly the same this afternoon with rather cool temperatures nearing 30 degrees on the track and 20 in the air.
At 3:00 PM, the lights turn green at the end of the pit lane for the start of this second free practice session of the Austrian Grand Prix!
🚦 GREEN LIGHT 🚦
We’re underway for another 90 minutes of action in Spielberg
Follow along with live timing and commentary here> https://t.co/MddmLh2Nm7 #AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/iQVoGBRqcs— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 juin /f1/actualite/22796-autriche-essais-libres-1-mercedes-dompte-le-taureau.html
The weekend started very badly for McLaren. This morning Stoffel Vandoorne saw his front nose broken after hitting a curb and lost a lot of time in the session, while Fernando Alonso did very few fast laps, concentrating on evaluating the new parts fitted to his car. As a result, the two orange cars quickly went out on track to set a time. The Belgian was 5th, ahead of the Spaniard, 7th. But this would be short-lived for the latter as once back in his garage, his mechanics started working on the car to change the floor…
While the Mercedes and Red Bulls are slow to hit the track, it’s the Ferraris with Räikkönen in the lead that set the two best provisional times, with the Finn clocking in at 1:05.273, just over two-tenths ahead of Sebastian Vettel.
Unlike the McLarens, the two Saubers are getting faster as the season progresses. This weekend, Charles Leclerc might once again aim for a spot in Q3, as could his teammate Marcus Ericsson, who was 11th this morning, despite the Swede’s certain optimism in turn 4!
Marcus Ericsson is fastest on this part of the circuit 😉
The [SauberF1Team](https://twitter.com/SauberF1Team?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) takes to an escape road after a trip through the gravel [#AustrianGP](https://twitter.com/hashtag/AustrianGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) 🇦🇹 [#F1](https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [pic.twitter.com/8yeVEf6Pxc](https://t.co/8yeVEf6Pxc) — Formula 1 (@F1) [29 juin](https://twitter.com/F1/status/1012685763169923073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
As soon as they hit the track, the Mercedes take the lead in the standings. Lewis Hamilton clocks a 1:04.579 ahead of Valtteri Bottas with a 1:04.767. The two teammates are on Soft tires. Meanwhile, some drivers are starting to fit Ultra Soft tires to begin qualifying simulations. Sebastian Vettel and Romain Grosjean are among them.
On the French drivers’ side, Romain Grosjean is the fastest after 30 minutes of the session. The Haas driver is 6th while Esteban Ocon and his Force India are 13th. Pierre Gasly enters the Top 10 just before coming to a halt in the gravel, broken suspension!
The Toro Rosso driver aggressively went over a curb and cleanly broke his right front suspension. The blue car is quickly cleared, and the session resumes.
🚩 RED FLAG 🚩
Pierre Gasly is beached in the gravel with a wonky front wheel#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/9KAJtfrBfp
— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 juin /f1/actualite/22796-autriche-essais-libres-1-mercedes-dompte-le-taureau.html
The Red Bulls, and more specifically Max Verstappen’s, seem to be having some difficulty with their balance. The Dutchman has complained several times about excessive tire degradation and an unpredictable brake distribution. Mid-session, however, the two Austrian single-seaters are in 3rd and 4th place, lurking behind the Mercedes, and especially ahead of the Ferraris.
At the end of the session, Fernando Alonso finally returns to the track, but the Spaniard attacks the curbs too aggressively and damages his front wing. A return to the pits is mandatory to check everything out! A bit further down the pit lane, the Toro Rosso mechanics did a brilliant job repairing Gasly’s car, which comes out in the final minutes after his mishap at the start of the session.
In a final qualifying mode effort, Vettel this time managed to get ahead of the two Red Bulls and secure his name in the 3rd place of the provisional standings.
The Haas team will surely be penalized this evening, as they released Kevin Magnussen from his pit with a poorly attached wheel… the Dane stopped a bit further down and was brought back to his position by his mechanics.
Magnussen leaves his pit box with his front-right tyre loose 👀
📻: “Stop the car, stop the car!”#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/7qNGlUnAX7
— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 juin /f1/actualite/22796-autriche-essais-libres-1-mercedes-dompte-le-taureau.html
On this first day, Renault drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz are somewhat behind, unable to break into the top 10. They are regularly beaten by the Haas and Sauber cars equipped with Ferrari power units. The men in yellow will need to respond tomorrow to hope for points on Sunday.
This day ends with another Mercedes one-two, Hamilton ahead of Bottas.
The complete ranking of FP2:
Two in a row for @LewisHamilton and @ValtteriBottas in Spielberg
But Ferrari and Red Bull aren’t far behind…#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/yEZewKpO5f
— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 juin /f1/actualite/22796-autriche-essais-libres-1-mercedes-dompte-le-taureau.html
