Nico Rosberg topped the times by just 0.019s from team-mate Lewis Hamilton in a rain-hit second practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix.
Rosberg was fastest courtesy of a very early lap at the start of FP2, posting a 1:07.967. Just ten minutes into the session, however, heavy rain started to fall at the final two corners and caught out a number of drivers still lapping on slick tyres as the rest of the track remained dry.
Drivers were quick to try and get back to the pits as strong winds ensured the torrential rain quickly engulfed the circuit, leaving a large amount of standing water on the pit straight. Jolyon Palmer and Sergio Perez both suffered spins in the penultimate corner in the wet conditions, but safely returned to the pits.
The downpour lasted for around 15 minutes before it eased and the track started to dry again, with the two Red Bulls first out on intermediate tyres before the final 20 minutes allowed slicks to be used.
With the track drying quickly, many drivers improved and Hamilton was just 0.019s off his team-mate with a late lap on ultrasoft tyres. Rosberg’s best time came on supersofts and he was set to improve by more than half a second but opted to pit rather than complete the lap.
Nico Hulkenberg ended the session third quickest, 0.613s adrift of Rosberg and just 0.009s faster than Sebastian Vettel. Vettel was pushing for a late lap on ultrasoft tyres when he spun at high speed at Turn 2, with the car snapping away from him under braking. Fortunately for Vettel he came to a rest in the gravel trap before the barrier, but his excursion ensured the session ended under virtual safety car conditions.
Daniel Ricciardo was fifth quickest ahead of Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen, with Valtteri Bottas and Jenson Button completing the top ten. While Hamilton and Hulkenberg posted their best laps on the ultrasoft, Vettel, Ricciardo and Sainz all used the supersoft tyre for their times.
Raikkonen had a spin before the rain delay, with the Finn going straight on at Turn 5 and spinning in the gravel, forcing him to drive the wrong way up the access road before being able to find a gap big enough to spin his car round again.
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Team programs were heavily disrupted by the weather, which prevented any long runs on high fuel to understand tyre life during the second practice session.
The heavy rain is expected to be a sign of things to come this weekend in Austria, with more thunderstorms forecast on Saturday and heavy rain predicted for race day.
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01
Nico Rosberg
Mercedes
1:07.967
25
02
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
1:07.986
19
03
Nico Hulkenberg
Force India
1:08.580
28
04
Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari
1:08.589
25
05
Daniel Ricciardo
Red Bull
1:08.649
30
06
Carlos Sainz
Toro Rosso
1:08.713
32
07
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1:08.761
20
08
Kimi Raikkonen
Ferrari
1:08.820
23
09
Valtteri Bottas
Williams
1:08.941
24
10
Jenson Button
McLaren
1:08.994
30
11
Fernando Alonso
McLaren
1:09.075
26
12
Felipe Massa
Williams
1:09.184
17
13
Daniil Kvyat
Toro Rosso
1:09.207
26
14
Sergio Perez
Force India
1:09.226
32
15
Kevin Magnussen
Renault
1:09.525
19
16
Jolyon Palmer
Renault
1:10.020
23
17
Pascal Wehrlein
Manor
1:10.034
20
18
Esteban Gutierrez
Haas
1:10.138
16
19
Marcus Ericsson
Sauber
1:10.140
19
20
Romain Grosjean
Haas
1:10.400
31
21
Felipe Nasr
Sauber
1:10.444
22
22
Rio Haryanto
Manor
1:11.328
25
