» Rosberg edges Hamilton in second practice

Nico Rosberg has finished Friday’s practice on top in a rain-affected second session at the Red Bull Ring, narrowly ahead of his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton. Force India’s Nico Hülkenberg set a late lap to finish in third, 0.6 seconds off the pace.

Rosberg set his best time of a 1:07.967 only a few minutes into the session before heavy rain began falling at Turns 8 and 9. The rain quickly picked up in volume and within moments the track was covered with standing water.

This saw the entire field confined to their garages as the rain swept across the Red Bull Ring and flooded the main straight.

With half of the session remaining, Daniel Ricciardo was the first driver to head out to the track on a set of intermediate tyres, to which his Red Bull Racing teammate Max Verstappen soon followed.

The rest of the field – apart from Hamilton, the Sauber and Manor Racing drivers – also joined the circuit to evaluate the condition of the track, as more rain is forecast during qualifying tomorrow.

Track conditions improved every lap as the sun returned, so it became difficult to gauge which teams ran well on the intermediate tyre. Carlos Sainz enjoyed a strong session, as he set competitive times on the wet track and finished the session in sixth position overall.

Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen was the first driver to make the switch to slick tyres with 18 minutes of the 90-minute session left to run. The Finn put on a set of super soft tyres while his teammate Sebastian Vettel chose the ultra-softs.

Hamilton put in his best time of the session to slot into second position on the ultra-soft tyre, while Vettel brought the session to an early end after the German slid off the track into the Turn 2 gravel, bringing out the Virtual Safety Car.

FORMULA 1 GROSSER PREIS VON ÖSTERREICH 2016 – FREE PRACTICE 2 SESSION RESULTS
	Driver	Team / Entry	Result	Laps
1.	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 W07 Hybrid	1:07.967	25
2.	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 W07 Hybrid	+ 0.019	19
3.	Nico Hülkenberg	Sahara Force India Mercedes VJM09	+ 0.613	28
4.	Sebastian Vettel	Scuderia Ferrari SF16-H	+ 0.622	25
5.	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer RB12	+ 0.682	30
6.	Carlos Sainz Jr	Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari STR11	+ 0.746	32
7.	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer RB12	+ 0.794	20
8.	Kimi Räikkönen	Scuderia Ferrari SF16-H	+ 0.853	23
9.	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Martini Racing Mercedes FW38	+ 0.974	24
10.	Jenson Button	McLaren-Honda MP4-31	+ 1.027	30
11.	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Honda MP4-31	+ 1.108	26
12.	Felipe Massa	Williams Martini Racing Mercedes FW38	+ 1.217	17
13.	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari STR11	+ 1.240	26
14.	Sergio Pérez	Sahara Force India Mercedes VJM09	+ 1.259	32
15.	Kevin Magnussen	Renault Sport F1 Team RS16	+ 1.558	19
16.	Jolyon Palmer	Renault Sport F1 Team RS16	+ 2.053	23
17.	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing Mercedes MRT5	+ 2.067	20
18.	Esteban Gutiérrez	Haas F1 Ferrari VF-16	+ 2.171	16
19.	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber F1 Team Ferrari C35	+ 2.173	19
20.	Romain Grosjean	Haas F1 Ferrari VF-16	+ 2.433	31
21.	Felipe Nasr	Sauber F1 Team Ferrari C35	+ 2.477	22
22.	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing Mercedes MRT5	+ 3.361	25