The Mercedes team will likely breathe a short sigh of relief following this afternoon’s proceedings at the Red Bull Ring.
After the Styrian Grand Prix, the championship-winning team was unsure if they could claw back some points heading to the same track that proved tricky for them this weekend.
However, they may have done something right, as they crossed the line fastest this afternoon.
This morning, Hamilton finished in 7th, however, in FP2 he managed to outpace Valtteri Bottas and Verstappen by 0.2s with his lap in 1:04.523.
After making the move to soft tyres, the silver arrows shot ahead of the once leading Red Bull of Verstappen this afternoon – but there was a close call for Hamilton after he found himself in the gravel at Turn 4 towards the end of the day.
Meanwhile, Verstappen was close behind in third and was just .2s off the leading pace.
Aston Martin will be happy with their results this afternoon, after Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel crossed this line fourth and fifth – although more than half a second off the lead.
Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri were sixth and seventh respectively this afternoon, while Fernando Alonso finished eighth.
Closing out the top ten ahead of the final practice session tomorrow was McLaren’s Lando Norris in ninth and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi in 10th.
