Mercedes' Black Arrows remain in charge in FP2 in Austria

Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas picked up on Friday afternoon in FP2 where the Mercedes pair left off in the morning, but the spread between the competitive top 10 remained tight and within a second, which isn't altogether surprising given the Red Bull Ring's short layout.

Racing Point's Sergio Perez clocked in third behind the dominant pace setters, 0.641s behind Hamilton , while Sebastian Vettel improved Ferrari's fortunes with P4, just edging Renault's Daniel Ricciardo who rounded off the top 5.

• 2020 Austrian Grand Prix Free Practice 2 - Results

After a damp start earlier in the day, FP2 kicked off under dry conditions, with Haas' Romain Grosjean heading out first which was hardly surprising given the Frenchman's botched morning session due to brake issues.

The timesheet was tinted in pink just a few minutes in to the session with Racing Point's chargers lining up 1 and 2, with Bottas just behind.

Early entertainment for viewers was provided by AlphaTauri's Daniil Kvyat and Williams' Nicholas Latifi who both harmlessly spun - although not together - on the exit of Turn 1.

Twenty minutes in, a purple sector for Verstappen augured well for the Dutchman who shot to the top of the screens with a 1m05.379s on medium tyres.

But Hamilton, who had been getting up to speed until then, deposed the Red Bull with a 1m05.095s. The Briton's lead was short-lived however as Perez, on soft tyres, clocked in with a 1m04.945s, while teammate Lance Stroll sandwiched the Mercedes in third.

However, Bottas overhauled the lot when he fired in a 1m04.501s.

Sebastian Vettel extricated Ferrari from the field's lower tier to snatch third on soft tyres, while Leclerc was sixth.

Still, one sensed that a long weekend likely lay ahead for the House of Maranello.

Hamilton bolted on a fresh set of soft tyres and, despite the threat of traffic, sprung to the top once again with a 1m04.304s that edged Bottas by 0.197s, with the top-10 covered by just a full second.

As the session hit the one hour mark, Verstappen was seen venturing off into the gravel at Turn 6 but with no apparent consequences.

As not to be outdone by his teammate, Albon also indulged in an off, but at Turn 1, again with no repercussions.

Long runs were in order as everyone entered the final 20 minutes of the day's running, with most drivers reverting to medium or hard rubber to check their consistencies for race day.

Times at the top were thus set in stone, with Mercedes left once gain in charge, but in a tight top-10 field that included both Racing Point drivers, both McLarens, two Ferraris, one Renault and one Red Bull

Ocon head the rest of the pack in P11 while Latifi made up the rear, 2.820s adrift from pace setter Hamilton.

The takeaway from the first day of action is that Mercedes' hegemony is intact while Red Bull has yet to get to grips with its RB16. As predicted, Ferrari is left struggling, while Racing Point holds an early edge in the midfield.

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