LIVE: Austrian Grand Prix - FP1

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Follow live coverage of the first free practice session for the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix with F1i.

The spectacular Red Bull Ring - set in the Styrian mountains - is set to host its third edition of the race since it returned to the F1 calendar in 2014. The 4.326km circuit features just nine corners and is the shortest lap of the season in terms of lap time, with times within the 1m06s bracket expected this weekend.

While Mercedes has secured successive one-two finishes in Austria - with Nico Rosberg winning on both occasions - it is a circuit which has allowed its competitors to get closer. In 2014, Williams locked out the front row and finished a close third, while Sebastian Vettel was similarly competitive in the race last year before a slow pit stop.

Ferrari is due to test an updated version of the Halo cockpit protection device in FP1, running it on one of its cars for the installation lap.

FP1 is set to take place in dry and warm conditions, with plenty of running expecting this morning due to the threat of rain in FP2. The weekend forecast is for thunderstorms and heavy rain spells from this afternoon onwards.

This year’s Austrian Grand Prix weekend all starts here with FP1 at 10am local time (9am BST). We'll be bringing you all the news and information from trackside as it happens on F1i's live page.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.