Lewis Hamilton sets the pace in Austrian Grand Prix practice

Lewis Hamilton set the pace on the opening day of practice for tomorrow's Austrian GP, topping the timesheets ahead of championship rival Sebastian Vettel

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton set the pace on the opening day of practice for tomorrow's Austrian GP, topping the timesheets ahead of championship rival Sebastian Vettel.

The Mercedes driver, who was also quickest in yesterday's morning session, lapped the 4.3-kilometer long Red Bull Ring circuit with a fastest time of one minute, 05.483 seconds set during the afternoon. Championship leader Vettel, fourth in the morning, was just 0.147 seconds off his rival's best.

The Ferrari driver was fourth in the morning. "The car feels fantastically fast here," said Hamilton, who had to pull into the garage during the second session to have a spark plug changed.

"There's already a nice balance and it feels good out on track. The team is in good spirits and we're all up for another exciting fight with the Ferraris this weekend."
Valtteri Bottas was third in the other Mercedes but had a wild spin during his qualifying simulation.

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