Austria – Free Practice 2: Hamilton continues to set records!

This morning, Lewis Hamilton already broke the track record without using Soft tires. Max Verstappen also confirmed the progress of the Red Bulls by setting the 2nd fastest time.

The sky is filling with clouds this early afternoon over the Red Bull Ring. Rain is not expected, although a shower did fall during lunch. The air temperature is around 30° while the track temperature reaches 45.

Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Pérez return to their cars after handing over their Renault and Force India to Sergei Sirotkin and Alfonso Celis Jr. respectively this morning. And this time, it doesn’t take long before there is activity on the track. The drivers fit the Super Softs and shatter the track record. First, Valtteri Bottas with a 1:05.869, then Lewis Hamilton improves the mark with a 1:05.731 before the Finn takes back the best time with a 1:05.700!

⏱️1:05.700 🔥

Fastest lap of the day so far for BOT

He’s already beaten HAM’s quickest FP1 time#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #FP2 pic.twitter.com/2iBERryeMy

— Formula 1 (@F1) 7 juillet 2017

Daniel Ricciardo is the first driver to attempt a lap on Ultra Soft tires. The times will continue to drop. It would be truly exceptional to see a lap under a minute this weekend, but not entirely improbable. After an initial effort, the Australian places his Red Bull in 4th position, just over half a second behind Bottas.

We’ve seen a lot of slips and missteps this morning, and the situation hasn’t changed this afternoon as Romain Grosjean and Marcus Ericsson already make mistakes. The Frenchman gets going again without any issues, just like the Swede, who heads directly back to his pit after causing the first yellow flag of the session.

YELLOW FLAGS out briefly as ERI misjudges things at Turn 6 and ends up in the gravel #AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #FP2 pic.twitter.com/ThNJMrEYEZ

— Formula 1 (@F1) 7 juillet 2017

While Kimi Räikkönen complains about the photographers who are in the path of his pit stop, Max Verstappen waits in his with mechanics working on his car. The Dutchman has been experiencing a lot of reliability issues since the start of the season, and this time it is the brakes that seem to be the main concern.

The McLarens are in much better form than usual at the start of this weekend. 7th and 9th in the first free practice session this morning, Stoffel Vandoorne and Fernando Alonso are ranked 6th and 8th at the beginning of this session.

All the leaders are on the Ultra Soft tires. Bottas attempts to beat his own best time but improves by just a thousandth after going too wide in turn 9. Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel immediately places his Ferrari in the lead, setting a new track record with a 1.05.630. As Bottas tries to reclaim his position, he makes an error in turn 7 and returns to the pits. This is when Lewis Hamilton chooses to take the lead with a 1.05.483.

Max Verstappen finally takes to the track after missing the first half-hour of the session. He immediately places himself in 4th position. It’s now Fernando Alonso who must wait in his garage while his team repairs an issue with the floor of his car.

A bit of damage to Fernando’s floor – his mechanics are going to fit a new floor while we make some changes ahead of his next #FP2 run. pic.twitter.com/0qthdSS1bi

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) 7 juillet 2017

On the side of the usual outsiders, there’s a bit of disappointment during these FP2 sessions. The Force Indias of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Pérez are only 9th and 17th at the midpoint, just like the Williams of Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll, ranked 15th and 16th.

The ranking of the Renault drivers reflects their season, with Hülkenberg securing a Top 10 finish and Jolyon Palmer stuck at the back in a negligible 18th place, just ahead of the sluggish Saubers of Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson, who will have a hard time staying afloat this weekend.

The hunt for the best time, however, will take a break because, as usual, the next few minutes will be devoted to race simulations. The Ferraris of Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen are very fast and are completing a significant number of laps, close to 40 for each of them. But the Mercedes seem to be a bit faster in race conditions.

There are more and more clouds above the circuit raising concerns of imminent showers. In the last quarter hour, Daniel Ricciardo had to bring his Red Bull to a standstill in the pits due to a problem detected with his turbo. His teammate, Verstappen, is only five hundredths ahead of him in the standings.

At Toro Rosso, it’s Daniil Kvyat who encounters problems and returns his smoking car to the pits: the brakes caught fire on a very demanding circuit in this area! Earlier in the session, an off-track excursion by Sainz had also ended his presence on the track.

Under six mins left in FP2

It looks like KVY’s session could be over 👀🔥😮#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/3bbRleMkjc

— Formula 1 (@F1) 7 juillet 2017

The last few minutes, only marked by Alonso’s spin, did not see significant improvements in lap times, and once again it is Lewis Hamilton who sets the fastest time ahead of Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari. The weekend duel is announced!

The pleasant surprises in the top 10 concern the two Haas drivers, Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, who finish 7th and 10th, respectively, as well as Alonso’s McLaren, which finishes in a respectable 8th position.

The complete ranking of FP2:

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP2)#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #FP2 pic.twitter.com/wZP1U8X51A

— Formula 1 (@F1) 7 juillet 2017