Lewis Hamilton continued his strong start to the season by setting the pace in a weather affected  second practice session for the Australian Grand Prix.

Rain showers plagued the session which ended hopes of any dry running being completed during the 90 minute hit out.

Hamilton produced his session best when the track was at its driest with 20 minutes remaining as the Brit clocked a 1:38.8s on intermediate tyres.

The same however could not be said for Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg who clouted the Turn 7 wall early in the session, which ended his day prematurely.

The German tried to limp back to the pits before being instructed to pull off the circuit leaving him in 15th position at the chequered flag.

Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg emerged as the best of the rest with the the German trailing Hamilton by 0.4s.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was third having briefly enjoyed a spell at the top of the times, while Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was fourth just 0.2s further back.

Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso also enjoyed time at the top before settling for fifth and sixth.

Jenson Button (McLaren), Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), Sergio Perez (Force India) and Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) rounded out the top 10.

Result: Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix Practice 2