Lewis Hamilton fronted a 1-2 for Mercedes as the delayed 2020 Formula 1 season finally got underway in Austria on Friday morning.
In cool and overcast conditions at a spectator-less Red Bull Ring, reigning World Champion Hamilton clocked a best time of 1:04.816 on Soft tyres in the newly-liveried Mercedes W11.
It left Hamilton 0.356s clear of team-mate Valtteri Bottas in the sister car.
Rain briefly fell during the session, prompting some drivers to run a few laps on Intermediate tyres, but the circuit quickly dried in order for slicks to be used for the bulk of the 90 minutes.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished as the fastest non-Mercedes driver as he clocked the third-quickest lap time, 0.602s down on Hamilton.
Verstappen, who had a spin exiting Turn 1, was a mere 0.013s up on Carlos Sainz Jr., as McLaren showed encouraging pace, with Lando Norris sixth.
They were split by Sergio Perez as Racing Point also displayed flashes of speed during the session, with Lance Stroll 11th after having a lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.
Red Bull Racing’s Alexander Albon classified seventh, Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo eighth and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen ninth.
Ferrari had six different teams set a quicker lap time than its SF1000 during the session as it carried over its subdued pace from pre-season testing.
However neither Charles Leclerc nor Sebastian Vettel ventured onto the Soft compound tyre, opting to use the Mediums, as they finished 10th and 12th respectively.
Esteban Ocon returned to grand prix weekend action for the first time since November 2018 but his session was prematurely curtailed when a minor piece of bodywork from his Renault R.S.20 detached along the pit straight.
Alfa Romeo finished 14th and 15th, with Antonio Giovinazzi in front of Kimi Raikkonen.
The biggest drama in the session involved AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Williams’ George Russell.
Gasly spun through the final corner and the pursuing Russell had to take to the run-off to avoid the stricken AlphaTauri driver.
Gasly placed 16th, in front of Russell and 2020’s sole debutant Nicholas Latifi, with Daniil Kvyat slowest of the 19 drivers to log a representative time.
Romain Grosjean registered only six laps as he spent much of the session in the garage due to his Haas VF-20 developing a brake fluid leak.
Second practice for the Austrian Grand Prix is due to begin at 15:00 local time (GMT +2)
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:04.816 | 42 | |
| 2 | V. Bottas | Mercedes | 1:05.172 | +0.356 | 38 |
| 3 | M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:05.418 | +0.602 | 37 |
| 4 | C. Sainz | McLaren | 1:05.431 | +0.615 | 41 |
| 5 | S. Perez | Racing Point | 1:05.512 | +0.696 | 34 |
| 6 | L. Norris | McLaren | 1:05.621 | +0.805 | 42 |
| 7 | A. Albon | Red Bull | 1:05.701 | +0.885 | 29 |
| 8 | D. Ricciardo | Renault | 1:05.860 | +1.044 | 29 |
| 9 | K. Magnussen | Haas | 1:05.907 | +1.091 | 27 |
| 10 | C. Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:05.924 | +1.108 | 31 |
| 11 | L. Stroll | Racing Point | 1:06.074 | +1.258 | 35 |
| 12 | S. Vettel | Ferrari | 1:06.077 | +1.261 | 32 |
| 13 | E. Ocon | Renault | 1:06.270 | +1.454 | 22 |
| 14 | A. Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 1:06.360 | +1.544 | 24 |
| 15 | K. Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | 1:06.365 | +1.549 | 28 |
| 16 | P. Gasly | AlphaTauri | 1:06.404 | +1.588 | 25 |
| 17 | G. Russell | Williams | 1:06.495 | +1.679 | 27 |
| 18 | N. Latifi | Williams | 1:06.906 | +2.090 | 31 |
| 19 | D. Kvyat | AlphaTauri | 1:06.943 | +2.127 | 19 |
| 20 | R. Grosjean | Haas | 1:46.361 | +41.545 | 6 |
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