Hamilton keeps control in EL2 of the Austrian GP

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) improved the lap record at Red Bull Ring where the second practice session for the Austrian GP took place this afternoon. With a time of 1'05''483 achieved on ultra-soft tires, the Briton improved his morning performance by more than 4 tenths even if he saw his session disrupted by spark plug problems on his Power Unit.

His teammate Valtteri Bottas was ranked 2 tenths behind being preceded by the Ferrari de Sebastian Vettel. The second Mercedes was ahead of the Red Bulls by Max Verstappen et Daniel Ricciardo, the Dutchman having missed part of the session due to mechanical problems. Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) completed the lead pack in 6th place, half a second ahead of his closest pursuers.

Kevin Magnussen (Haas) was the fastest among the drivers more than a second from the lap record, his teammate Romain Grosjean having finished a tenth behind the Dane by completing the top ten behind Fernando Alonso (McLaren) and Nico Hulkenberg (Renault). The Frenchman finished ahead of his compatriot Esteban Ocon (Force India) and Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren).

Jolyon Palmer (Renault) only finished 18th behind Sergio Pérez (Force India), the Briton having been stuck in the pits after only 7 covered laps.

The final practice session will be held this Saturday at 11 a.m. and broadcast live on Canal+ Décalé.