Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg topped the sessions in a rain hit Austrian Grand Prix Getty

Nico Rosberg set the fastest time in Friday practice with the Mercedes driver topping both FP1 and FP2. His teammate Lewis Hamilton was no pushover as he came in second to make a compelling case for Mercedes in the Championship. Rosberg has won the race both times since it came to Austria and is expected to repeat his heroics in the third edition.

Where to watch live

The third free practice session at the circuit begins on 2 July at 9.45am BST, while the qualifying session starts at 12pm BST. Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports F1 HD will provide live coverage of both events in the UK.

Real-time internet updates are available on the Live Timing section of the sport's official website.

Practice review

The weather was perfect on Friday for the first practice session as Rosberg ruled the roost and broke Michael Schumacher's record for the fastest ever lap around the Red Bull Ring. However, it went down from there as the race had to be stopped for more than 30 minutes owing to torrential rains, which forced the drivers to take a break before returning for FP2.

Force India's Nico Hulkenberg came in third while four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel found himself on the gravel trap after a problem with his brakes in turn two. Vettel, who also has a five-place grid penalty this weekend for an unauthorised gearbox change, revealed that he had lost all control of the car when he touched the brakes.

It was a treacherous track for everyone to manoeuvre especially with the rain gods expected to keep pouring through the length of the race. Everyone had their own set of problems in practice, with Hamilton also turning into the gravel trap in turn 4. Red Bull's Max Verstappen paid the biggest price for his mistakes as he clobbered his right-front suspension in turn five. He finished FP 1 in eighth spot.

The second half of FP 3 could give a clear indication of the pecking order behind, and in qualifying it will also depend on which driver can get his tyre temperatures to the optimum level at the right time.

Top 10 results of the second practice session (FP2) from the Grosser Preis von Osterreich 2016 in Spielberg

  1. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 1:07.967s
  2. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes 1:07.986s
  3. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger)Force India 1:08.580s
  4. Sebastian Vettel (Ger)Ferrari 1:08.589s
  5. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:08.649s
  6. Carlos Sainz Jr (Esp) Toro Rosso 1:08.713s
  7. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:08.761s
  8. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1m 08.820s
  9. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 1:08.941s
  10. Jenson Button (GBR) McLaren 1:08.994s