Hamilton taking dominant opening day 'with a pinch of salt'

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Lewis Hamilton was happy with his opening day of running at the Austrian Grand Prix, but Friday's pacesetter isn't giving undue importance to his performance.

Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas kicked off the 2020 season by leading the charge in both practice sessions at the Red Bull Ring.

The duo concluded FP2 with a margin of over half a second over third-placed man Sergio Perez. While satisfied with how the day unfolded, Hamilton wasn't reading too much into the team's results.

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"The track was a little bit greasy and while the grip will pick up, it feels like the track only improved a very small amount," said the six-time world champion.

"It was looking good out there today, but you can never take too much from practice. You never know what power and fuel other teams are running.

"So we will take today's result with a pinch of salt, try and improve the car tonight and come back for the fight tomorrow."

Bottas trailed his teammate in both sessions, but the Finn encountered a gearbox issue in Fp2 that brought a premature end to his day.

"We've been making good progress throughout the day, step by step, as it is to be expected after such a long break," said Bottas.

"It was a decent day overall, although we had a small problem with my car towards the end.

"The grip level was pretty low today, but I'm sure the track will ramp up over the course of the weekend. We need to stay on top of that as that can change the set-up quite a bit on this track.

"The main challenge will be to get the balance right for both high-speed and low-speed corners and fine tune the car for that single lap on Saturday, while keeping our race pace in mind as well.

"It's only Friday, the lap times will come down tomorrow with the track improving, with additional performance items from all the teams and with the drivers pushing hard, so it will be interesting to find out where we stand."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.