Sergio Perez finished FP1 at the Styrian GP on top, ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen by 0.096 seconds.

The 1:04.867 set by Perez ended up 0.222 seconds quicker than supplier team Mercedes, with Valtteri Bottas ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Back again in the Styrian hills, Verstappen ended up being the only non-Mercedes powered car within six-tenths of Perez's time.

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Testing new parts has already become a huge part of the season and we are only eight days in.

Many teams are using FP1 more like a pre-season test rather than working on race pace, particularly the scarlet Ferrari.

Sebastian Vettel completed the fastest lap for the team, still nine-tenths off of the fastest time with he and his teammate Charles Leclerc vigorously testing a new floor and a new front wing.

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This session was used in a similar way all through the midfield as McLaren, Renault and Alpha Tauri all managed to get one car ahead of Vettel to round out the top 10.

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For the people concerned about the reliability of the cars the session would have been boosting confidence heading into the weekend.

The only concerning moment of the session was when Williams' Nicholas Latifi brought out a red flag after his car slowed on the run towards turn four and he pulled off to the side of the track.

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Daniil Kvyat had the only other noteworthy moment of the session - a spin at the exit of turn three.

Latifi's teammate George Russell did not take part in the session after reserve driver Jack Aitken put in a very good performance in FP1.

The man Latifi replaced at Williams, Robert Kubica, also got a run as a reserve driver for Alfa Romeo, taking over from Antonio Giovinazzi.

With rain looking likely on Saturday, FP2 will be different to usual as more time may be put into qualifying practice. It was an interesting session at the Styrian GP.