RED BULL RING GIVES YOU WINS

Hamilton and Mercedes are on track for another Spielberg blockbuster in Austria

LEWIS HAMILTON is in the mood to build on one of Formula One’s most enviable records.

The Championship leader – who is hunting his fifth world title – is bidding to maintain Mercedes’ 100 per cent record around the Red Bull Ring in the town of Spielberg.

The British star and team-mate Valteri Bottas are the only drivers to have won at the circuit who will be on the grid tomorrow.

Mercedes have won every race since the Austrian GP returned to the calendar in 2014 and Hamilton hopes that gives him an advantage as he aims to stretch his 14-point drivers’ championship lead over Sebastian Vettel.

The 33-year-old looked in no mood to concede ground yesterday as he set a blistering pace during practice.

Mercedes have brought an aerodynamic upgrade to Austria, after a new engine was introduced at the previous race in France which Hamilton won, and they looked again to be a step ahead of their rivals as they dominated both of yesterday’s sessions.

Vettel was the best of the rest behind the Mercedes pair in his Ferrari and said: “We did a lot of laps, which is good.

“And usually on Saturday we can make a good step forward, so we should be well prepared for tomorrow and for Sunday.

“Do I believe we can win? It’s always important to start from pole position, but here it’s really difficult to overtake.

“I think today we had good speed, on Saturdays we’re normally a bit stronger than on the first day.”

French driver Romain Grosjean – who has yet to score a point this season – had a promising day for the Haas team.

And Monegasque rookie Charles Leclerc, who has been impressive in the Sauber and is seen as a likely replacement for Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari, continued his strong form.