» Hamilton hits the ground running

The Styrian hills were alive with the sound of twenty Formula 1 cars and at the end of the Austrian Grand Prix’s first practice session it was Lewis Hamilton who predictably led the way for Mercedes-AMG.

The Englishman outpaced long-time rival Sebastian Vettel by just 0.144 seconds at the end of a 90-minute session run under the baking conditions that have hit much of continental Europe this week. Hamilton’s fastest lap time, a 1:04.838, was posted on the Soft compound Pirelli tyres, whereas Vettel’s lap in his Ferrari came on the Medium rubber.

Last year’s pole-winner Valtteri Bottas did not have the easiest of sessions, losing track time when an oil leak was discovered in his new-spec power unit which necessitated that he revert to his high-mileage older-spec motor for this session. Despite this, he ended the session third-quickest, just 0.161 seconds adrift at a circuit where he has historically been strong.

Charles Leclerc was fourth-fastest in the second Ferrari despite complaining of a “bizarre feeling” with his brakes. The Monégasque driver lapped quicker than the Red Bull Racing duo of Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly, who reinstated the team’s mantle as the ‘third best’ outfit after being threatened by McLaren at last weekend’s French Grand Prix.

McLaren’s storng form continued, however, with Carlos Sainz Jr. lapping a little over half a second off Hamilton’s ultimate pace to finish seventh-fastest. The Spaniard will be starting Sunday’s race from the back of the grid, having taken on new Renault power unit elements this weekend – a similar fate awaits Scuderia Toro Rosso rookie Alexander Albon, who will be receiving Honda’s ‘Spec 3’ power unit.

Daniel Ricciardo was eighth-fastest in the lead Renault, with teammate Nico Hülkenberg bringing out the red flags that would end the session. The German ran wide at Turn 9 in the final minutes and broke off the left-hand side of his front wing.

After what team boss Günther Steiner described as its worst performance in its history in France, the move to Austria showed a return to form for the Haas F1 Team. Kevin Magnussen was ninth-fastest, two spots ahead of teammate Romain Grosjean. With the American outfit having slipped to ninth in the Constructors’ Championship standings, it will be hoping that it can repeat its form last year where its cars finished fourth and fifth.

The Red Bull Ring’s simple and less aerodynamically demanding nature flattered the Williams FW42 and gave the Grove team one of its more competitive showings. Its two cars still sat at the bottom of the timesheets, but this time George Russell was able to post his fastest lap within two seconds of the ultimate pace; teammate Robert Kubica was almost a second slower than the British rookie.

FORMULA 1 MYWORLD GROSSER PREIS VON ÖSTERREICH 2019 – FREE PRACTICE SESSION 1
	Driver	Team / Entry	Time	Gap	Laps
1.	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport W10	1:04.838		34
2.	Sebastian Vettel	Scuderia Ferrari SF90	1:04.982	+ 0.144	23
3.	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport W10	1:04.999	+ 0.161	37
4.	Charles Leclerc	Scuderia Ferrari SF90	1:05.141	+ 0.303	26
5.	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing RB15	1:05.260	+ 0.422	30
6.	Pierre Gasly	Red Bull Racing RB15	1:05.378	+ 0.540	30
7.	Carlos Sainz Jr.	McLaren F1 Team MCL34	1:05.502	+ 0.664	34
8.	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault F1 Team RS19	1:05.846	+ 1.008	27
9.	Kevin Magnussen	Haas F1 Team VF-19	1:05.876	+ 1.038	27
10.	Lando Norris	McLaren F1 Team MCL34	1:06.125	+ 1.287	27
11.	Romain Grosjean	Haas F1 Team VF-19	1:06.135	+ 1.297	20
12.	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda STR14	1:06.272	+ 1.434	29
13.	Alexander Albon	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda STR14	1:06.285	+ 1.447	32
14.	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault F1 Team RS19	1:06.383	+ 1.545	30
15.	Sergio Pérez	Racing Point F1 Team RP19	1:06.457	+ 1.619	36
16.	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing C38	1:06.708	+ 1.870	30
17.	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing C38	1:06.729	+ 1.891	23
18.	Lance Stroll	Racing Point F1 Team RP19	1:06.756	+ 1.918	29
19.	George Russell	ROKiT Williams Racing FW42	1:06.805	+ 1.967	28
20.	Robert Kubica	ROKiT Williams Racing FW42	1:07.665	+ 2.827	28