Mercedes lay down marker in Austria

Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton hinted that the Silver Arrows' dominance of the Austrian Grand Prix is set to continue after starring in practice. Hamilton was quickest in both sessions, getting close to the lap record at the Red Bull Ring, with Valtteri Bottas in second. Sebastian Vettel's race pace was impressive, but Ferrari look to have work to do to close the gap in qualifying.

MASTERFUL MERCEDES

Since the Austrian Grand Prix's return to the Formula 1 calendar, the top step has been taken by a Mercedes driver each time... and 2018 could well be the same judging by Friday's performances.

Hamilton was fastest of all, clocking one minute 4.579 seconds, just three tenths off team-mate Bottas' pole position time of 1:04.251 from last year - which also happens to be the outright lap record!

Remarkably, Hamilton set his time on the soft tyre - the hardest tyre available this weekend - so expect that record to be demolished in Q3, should the Silver Arrows make it there safely.

Vettel managed to join the Silver Arrows in dipping below the 1min 5sec barrier, however Mercedes' performance at Paul Ricard a week ago suggests that the balance in the power stakes may have tilted back to the champions and they underlined their status as the team to beat here.

ROPEY RED BULL

Two podium finishes in four years is a pretty poor return for Red Bull at their home race.

Whether they can improve on that in 2018 remains to be seen, with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen half a second adrift of the Mercedes in FP2.

Given how short and fast the Red Bull Ring is, five tenths of a second is an even greater deficit than it might be at another circuit.

Renault have brought an engine upgrade to Spielberg, but it appears that Mercedes new engine and aerodynamic updates are more effective at the moment.

WATCH THE KERBS!

Stoffel Vandoorne and Pierre Gasly came a cropper of the 'sausage' kerbs on the track on Friday. The McLaren's nose was snapped after running beyond track limits, while Gasly was relegated to the status of passenger after his suspension was snapped when running wide at turn nine.

Drivers gaining time beyond track limits was an issue when the track returned to F1, but expect some teams - particularly those affected today! - to cook up alternative remedies than the carbon-fibre-busting methods currently in place.

The warning will be clear to the teams, however, push your luck and your hopes could go up in smoke!