Austrian F1 Grand Prix 2015: Start Time, Drivers, TV Schedule and More

Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton will look to build on his win last time out in Canada when racing gets under way on Sunday for the 2015 Austrian Grand Prix.

Robbed of victory in Monaco after a strategy error, Hamilton bounced back impressively in Montreal to take a controlled win to team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Rosberg is also currently Hamilton's closest challenger atop the drivers' standings, and he needs to beat the Englishman in Spielberg to cut down the current 17-point gap separating the pair.

Read on for a full preview as the Formula One circus returns to Europe, along with scheduling and television details.

Date: Sunday, June 21

Time: 1 p.m. BST, 8 a.m. ET

TV Info: Live on Sky Sports F1 (UK), NBCSN (US)

Live Stream: Sky Go UK, NBC Sports Live Extra

Team	Driver 1	Driver 2
Mercedes	Lewis Hamilton	Nico Rosberg
Red Bull	Daniel Ricciardo	Daniil Kvyat
Ferrari	Sebastian Vettel	Kimi Raikkonen
Lotus	Pastor Maldonado	Romain Grosjean
McLaren	Fernando Alonso	Jenson Button
Force India	Nico Hulkenberg	Sergio Perez
Sauber	Marcus Ericsson	Felipe Nasr
Toro Rosso	Max Verstappen	Carlos Sainz Jr
Williams	Valtteri Bottas	Felipe Massa
Marussia	Will Stevens	Roberto Merhi

Hamilton Wary of Opponents

The 2015 F1 season has, thus far, seen Mercedes as dominant as they were last year, and Hamilton and Rosberg are currently first and second respectively in the standings.

If Hamilton leads another Mercedes one-two in Austria at the Red Bull Ring, he will move almost a race-win clear of his team-mate in terms of points, and take another step closer to a third world title.

However, the Englishman is expecting a challenge this weekend, and not just from Rosberg, per Formula1.com's David Tremayne: "This could be where we flatten out. Williams and Ferrari could be a lot closer; both have been making lot of improvements. Sebastian [Vettel] in particular will be on it here."

No doubt the fans of the sport would like a bit more competition from the rest of the paddock, who have categorically failed to keep up with Mercedes in recent times.

McLaren have gone backwards since Hamilton left the team, and they have fresh woes this weekend with Fernando Alonso set to take a grid penalty, potentially as heavy as 20 places, per BBC Sport's Andrew Benson.

Similarly, both Red Bull drivers, Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat, will also be penalised for having to take a new engine after also struggled this season, per Red Bull Racing:

That's at least two high-profile constructors who will, once again, not be competitive at a grand prix.

It must be hoped, then, that Ferrari—who have been Mercedes' closest challengers this season—can run the Mercedes pair close in Austria.

Williams could also challenge. The team have happy memories of the track from 2014, when they locked out the front row in qualifying as Felipe Massa took pole.

#	Driver	Team	Points
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	151
2	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	134
3	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	108
4	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	72
5	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	57
6	Felipe Massa	Williams	47
7	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	35
8	Daniil Kyvat	Red Bull	19
9	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	17
10	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	16
11	Sergio Perez	Force India	11
12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	10
13	Carlos Sainz Jr	Toro Rosso	9
14	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	6
15	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	6
16	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	5
17	Jenson Button	McLaren	4

Mercedes finished the race with a one-two, but Valtteri Bottas dogged the front pair throughout, and he will be looking for a similar performance this year.

Qualifying, as ever, will be vital on Saturday. With the Austrian Grand Prix having only returned to the Red Bull Ring last year, the drivers will be more confident in 2015 having experienced the circuit.

Rain could also be a concern for the teams, with the forecast for Saturday suggesting a potentially wet qualifying session, per F1 Madness:

This may shake up the field a little, although it may play into the hands of Hamilton, who is historically impressive in wet conditions.

Despite potential upgrades and improvements from the other teams, Mercedes are still clearly the team to beat this weekend.

They have the power, they have the pace and they have the drivers. All things being equal, another Mercedes one-two should be expected.

In the interests of the championship, a Rosberg win would make things very tight at the top, but the German will have to impress if he is to beat the in-form Hamilton.