Hamilton picks up where he left off on 1st day of F1 season

World champion Lewis Hamilton picked up where he left off on the first day of the Formula One season, setting the fastest times in the first two practices for the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday.

He last drove competitively on Dec. 1 when he dominated and won the 2019 finale at the Abu Dhabi GP. That capped his sixth F1 title to move one behind Michael Schumacher's record for titles, and seven behind his record of 91 race wins.

Seven months later, including a four-month postponement of the season because of the coronavirus pandemic, Hamilton looked typically assured.

"It's great to be back, it's been a long time coming," he said. "It was looking good out there today."

The British driver twice finished ahead of his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas on the 4.3-kilometer (2.7-mile) Red Bull Ring circuit in Spielberg nestled at the foot of the Styrian mountains in southern Austria.

Bottas was .356 seconds behind Hamilton in the damp and overcast morning run and improved to .197 back as the track dried and became warmer in the afternoon. Late in that session, however, he had to return to the pits because of a braking issue.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, winner of the last two races here, was third quickest in the first practice but slipped to eighth in the second session and encountered oversteering problems.

Ferrari struggled for speed in the morning with Charles Leclerc 10th quickest and Sebastian Vettel only 12th, but improved in the afternoon with Vettel pushing up to fourth behind Sergio Perez in third. Perez's Racing Point team uses Mercedes engines.

Although Vettel showed good cornering speed, he was still a somewhat distant .657 seconds adrift of Hamilton's time in the second session.

Ferrari is racing with the same car it used in preseason testing in February and has not made any upgrades, while Mercedes and other teams have.

After making a late strategy decision in terms of aerodynamic development this week, Ferrari is not upgrading its cars until the third race in Hungary, where practice starts on July 17.

Ferrari fans hopeful of a first title since Kimi Raikkonen's triumph in 2007 may have low expectations.

Leclerc thinks the car is not even as good as last year, when he finished fourth overall and Vettel could manage only fifth place — lagging behind Hamilton by a whopping 173 points.

"It's going to be a very, very challenging season for us," Leclerc said. "We still have these question marks and we still have to wait for qualifying to be absolutely sure of what we say, even though we are 99% sure that we'll be struggling more than last year."

Raikkonen is still driving 19 years after finishing sixth on his F1 debut at the Australian GP, won by Schumacher. But the 40year-old Finn misjudged a turn during P2 and his Alfa Romeo went into a gravel area.

There is a third and final practice on Saturday ahead of qualifying. Austria is hosting back-to-back races as part of an eight-race European swing and no spectators are allowed.

In a surreal atmosphere, with vast and empty grandstands outside, drivers have been holding their news conferences inside sat on chairs two meters apart and with masks on.

Media have no access to the paddock area where the teams are and no direct contact with drivers. Instead, they ask questions via video or by email. All media on site have to be tested for the coronavirus every five days.

Rival teams still want answers about Ferrari's 2019 engine

Rival teams still want answers about whether Ferrari's engine last season was legal or not, after an investigation was closed following a private settlement with governing body FIA.

Questions were raised as to whether Ferrari's fuel-flow exceeded its maximum permitted amount of 100 kilograms per hour. Teams argued that this may have been a key reason for Ferrari's notably superior speed on long straights and its remarkable run of six straight pole positions.

"It does sit uncomfortably that there is an agreement that has been entered into about the legality and conformity of a car," Red Bull team principal Christian

Horner said on Friday at the Austrian Grand Prix. "That immediately draws you to think 'What is in that agreement? What does it comprise of?' Because obviously a car is either legal or illegal."

In March, Red Bull and six other F1 teams co-signed a statement opposing the lack of an explanation and demanding answers. But the FIA stood firm on its decision and the season was then postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Four months later, questions remain unanswered.

"It does nothing but promote suspicion when there are private agreements about legality and conformity. The healthiest thing would be to get it on the table so everyone sees what (the agreement) comprised of," Horner said. "The FIA have said they are willing to do that. It would be great if Ferrari were prepared to do the same, so it puts it all to bed."

Although the FIA is now willing to disclose details, it also needs permission from Ferrari to do so.

"In today's transparent world it would be good to understand what was the case," McLaren CEO Zak Brown said. "But it doesn't seem like that's going to come forward from them (Ferrari) anytime soon."

Mercedes head of motorsport Toto Wolff also urged for clarification.

"Good governance is extremely important," he said. "It may well have been good governance (from the FIA) but if you don't know (what happened) it's difficult to judge."

But Ferrari is not prepared to share any details about the investigation.

"The answer is straightforward," Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said. "It's confidentiality, it's intellectual property protection and that's the reason why we're not keen to it.”