Analysis: Mercedes have more time in hand than their fastest FP2 lap suggests

Max Verstappen recorded the fastest time in both FP1 and FP2 ahead of the Styrian Grand Prix. The World Championship leader's fastest lap in the second free practice session was almost 0.400 seconds quicker than his rival for the title. Valtteri Bottas found himself down in P12, but the long runs prove Mercedes can't be ruled out in Austria. The Mercedes team also seem to have more time in their pockets. 

Single lap pace

Verstappen finished 0.336 seconds faster than Daniel Ricciardo's time in P2, but the rest of the field are extremely close together. Less than one second separates Ricciardo in P2 and George Russell in P16. Though that's hardly a surprise. With the lap taking less than 70 seconds to complete, there's less chance to lose time for the slower cars. 

Whilst Verstappen had the fastest lap time, neither Red Bull driver held a purple sector time when the chequered flag dropped. Ricciardo was fastest in sector one, and Hamilton set the purple times in sector two and three. This could indicate Hamilton has plenty of lap time in his pocket. Had his quickest sectors came together, the British driver would've recorded a 1:05.319, beating Verstappen's P1. 

Neither Bottas or Sergio Perez managed to record decent times. On the short circuit, traffic could've played a key part in this. And track limits played a factor, with 16 laps getting deleted in FP1. 

Long run

Overall, Hamilton recorded the average lap time on the long runs. He did so on the soft tyre. As the Mercedes looked good on the soft tyre, Red Bull Racing looked good on the hard tyres. Verstappen and Perez were both within a few tenths of Hamilton's average time. 

This shows that there's not much of a time difference between the Pirelli compounds. Because of this, we are likely to see a one-stop race from or to the hard tyres. Traffic could also have played a part in altering the average times.

In terms of the midfield, Ferrari seem to be leading the way over McLaren but it's extremely close.