Austrian Grand Prix 2015: Sebastian Vettel halts Mercedes' domination as Nico Rosberg beats Lewis Hamilton once again

Vettel only managed four laps in first practice but posted the fastest lap times in second practice at the Red Bull Ring

The Red Bull Ring's famous 'Bull' landmark as Sebastian Vettel flashes past (Getty Images)

Sebastian Vettel was quickest in second practice for the Austrian Grand Prix as Nico Rosberg again got the upper hand on Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Four-time Formula One world champion Vettel had minimal running in the morning session and gearbox issues cut short his afternoon but he was still able to put his Ferrari at the top of the timesheet at the Red Bull Ring.

His best time of one minute 09.600 seconds was just 0.011 quicker than fellow German Rosberg, who had been the man to beat in first practice.

Championship leader Hamilton could only manage the fifth fastest time and was over half a second off the pace having run wide on his first stint on the quicker, supersoft tyres.

The second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen was third whilst Pastor Maldonado also managed to set a quicker time than reigning champion Hamilton to finish fourth.

McLaren mechanics run to Fernando Alonso's aid after he breaks down (Getty Images)

Nico Hulkenberg was winning Le Mans last weekend and he was able to go sixth for Force India, with Romain Grosjean's Lotus seventh and Max Verstappen eighth for Toro Rosso.

Felipe Nasr put his Sauber ninth and the second Force India of Sergio Perez rounded out the top 10.

Daniil Kvyat was 12th for Red Bull, with the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz beating him to 11th and the sister car of Daniel Ricciardo down in 17th.

Ricciardo will take a 10-place grid penalty on Sunday having changed his engine, whilst the McLaren of Fernando Alonso has been hit with a 20-place drop due to the number of components he has changed.

Carlos Sainz suffered near-miss with the barrier in second practice (Getty Images)

The Spaniard was sporting a new nose on his McLaren, as well as a number of aerodynamic improvements, and he was fourth-tenths of a second faster than team-mate Jenson Button - who was running the old specification - but both were still 16th and 18th respectively as their running was again cut short.

Marcus Ericsson was 13th with the Williams pair of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa looking increasingly unlikely to repeat their front-row lockout here 12 months ago as they ended down in 14th and 15th.

The Manor pair of Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi again brought up the rear of the field as the expected rain stayed away for the whole 90-minute session.

Second Practice:

1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1min 09.600secs,

2 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 1.09.611,

3 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1.09.860,

4 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Lotus 1.09.914,

5 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes 1.10.137,

6 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Force India 1.10.160,

7 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Lotus 1.10.267,

8 Max Verstappen (Ned) Toro Rosso 1.10.356,

9 Felipe Nasr (Bra) Sauber 1.10.495,

10 Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1.10.585,

11 Carlos Sainz Jr (Spa) Toro Rosso 1.10.631,

12 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Red Bull 1.10.686,

13 Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber 1.10.744,

14 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 1.10.746,

15 Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams 1.11.011,

16 Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren 1.11.517,

17 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1.11.676,

18 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1.11.919,

19 Will Stevens (Gbr) Manor 1.12.522,

20 Roberto Merhi (Spa) Manor 1.13.094