Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton battles for pole position in qualifying for the 2015 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg today (Saturday).

The 30-year-old Mercedes AMG Petronas racer from Hertfordshire could only qualify ninth at the circuit last year.

But he powered through the field to finish the grand prix second, crossing the line behind Silver Arrows team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton will be looking to secure a better grid position today (Saturday) than last year at the scenic circuit in the mountains.

Rosberg topped the practice timesheets on Friday in the opening session with a lap of 1m 10.401s, with Hamilton second with 1m 10.709s.

The afternoon saw Rosberg end the day second fastest on a 1m 09.611s, with Lewis P5.

Less than a second separated the top 10 in the afternoon session, pointing towards a close qualifying session.

After Friday practice, Hamilton said: “I’m not sure how our pace looks relative to the others.

“I haven’t seen the data but Ferrari looked quick and it’s definitely closer here than at other circuits.

“We’re always aware of the threat from our rivals and we take it seriously every race. Hopefully it’ll all come together tomorrow [Saturday].”

In terms of time, Spielberg is the shortest track of the year.

It takes around 69 seconds to complete a lap of the 4.326km circuit, which is made up of only nine corners – the fewest of any circuit on the Formula 1 calendar.

There are four long straights, each one preceded by a slow corner, and that places the engineering emphasis on traction and straight-line speed.

The circuit is undulating and has an elevation change of 65m. It’s also high – the track is situated 700m above sea level, which puts it at a similar altitude to Interlagos in Brazil.

The reduced atmospheric pressure reduces the power of a naturally-aspirated engine by seven per cent and forces the turbo on the current power units to spin faster, to compensate for that loss from the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE).

Mercedes technical director Paddy Lowe said: “Spielberg is a great circuit – fast and flowing with relatively few corners but some spectacular elevation changes.

“Last year was, of course, the first Austrian Grand Prix for many years and the crowds were fantastic, creating a really good atmosphere.

“On track, however, we didn’t have our best performance of the season there last time out – despite coming away with a one-two finish.

“It was a difficult result to achieve – requiring some tight strategy calls to beat the Williams cars. Like Montreal, it’s a circuit where the Power Unit will come to the fore.”