Hamilton fastest as F1 returns in Austria

For the first time since Pre-Season testing in Spain, Formula 1 finally kicks off its new decade, 215 days since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Austrian Grand Prix’s first session saw Lewis Hamilton top the timesheets with a time of 1:04.816 on the soft compound tyre, +0.356 seconds quicker than Valtteri Bottas.

With the heavens opening prior to the session, the initial moments saw Scuderia Ferrari, BWT Racing Point Formula One Team, McLaren F1 Team and Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda all test the intermediate tyres. It also saw drivers readjust themselves and their cars with multiple installation laps.

Romain Grosjean’s season started less then ideally with a brake fluid issue halting his progress’ spending most his time in the Haas garage.

Two-time Austrian Grand Prix winner Max Verstappen took a little much speed through turn 1 and spun the car on the kerb exiting the corner. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was also caught out by the final corner, forcing him into a spin.

After an hour and half roaming around the Red Bull Ring completing various programs the final results are as followed:

Pos.	Name	Team	Time/Gap
1.	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team	1:04.816
2	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team	+0.356
3	Max Verstappen	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing	+0.602
4	Carlos Sainz	McLaren F1 Team	+0.615
5	Sergio Perez	Racing Point F1 Team	+0.696
6	Lando Norris	McLaren F1 Team	+0.805
7	Alex Albon	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing	+0.885
8	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault F1 Team	+1.044
9	Kevin Magnussen	Haas F1 Team	+1.091
10	Charles Leclerc	Scuderia Ferrari	+1.108
11	Lance Stroll	Racing Point F1 Team	+1.258
12	Sebastian Vettel	Scuderia Ferrari	+1.261
13	Esteban Ocon	Renault F1 Team	+1.454
14	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	+1.544
15	Kimi Raikonen	Alfa Romeo	+1.549
16	Pierre Gasly	Scuderia Alpha Tauri	+1.588
17	George Russell	Williams Racing	+1.679
18	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Racing	+2.090
19	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Alpha Tauri	+2.127
20	Romain Grosjean	Haas F1 Team	No time set