Formula 1

Hamilton takes Austrian victory after last lap Rosberg clash

3 Mins read
Lewis Hamilton - Credit: Octane Photographic Ltd

Lewis Hamilton took victory at the Red Bull Ring after a last lap clash with Mercedes AMG PETRONAS team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Rosberg had led into the final lap but a superior exit from turn one gave Hamilton a good run heading into turn two, with the Briton attempting to pass the German on the outside.

The two Mercedes drivers went into the turn side by side, with Hamilton slightly ahead, but Rosberg tried to reclaim the position and hit the side of his team-mate, breaking his front wing that saw the German fall to fourth at the chequered flag as he struggled to the chequered flag.

Rosberg had jumped into the lead of the race through a superior pit stop strategy having started sixth, and it looked like the Mercedes team were heading for another 1-2 finish before their last lap collision that will have the team scratching their heads once again.

While the Mercedes team squabbled, Max Verstappen drove a fantastic one-stop strategy to claim second place, with the Red Bull Racing driver making his only stop on lap fifteen. He was leading for a few laps after the Mercedes duo made their second stop, only to see both Rosberg and Hamilton pass with relative ease with superior grip.

Kimi Raikkonen closed down the gap on Verstappen in the final few laps, and finished on the Dutchman’s tail to claim the final podium position in his Scuderia Ferrari, having lost out to Verstappen during the pit stops.

Rosberg trailed home in fourth with his broken front wing, although the stewards are investigating the German after the race for continuing around the track with a damaged and potentially dangerous car.

Daniel Ricciardo brought the second Red Bull home in fifth, overtaking Jenson Button with just a handful of laps remaining, but the McLaren-Honda driver will be delighted to have taken his best finish of the season in sixth. Button had run second in the early stages, but found himself shuffled down the pack once the DRS was made available.

Romain Grosjean returned to the points for the Haas F1 Team in seventh despite taking a five second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, while Carlos Sainz Jr recovered from his engine failure in qualifying to claim eighth for Scuderia Toro Rosso.

Sergio Perez had been running eighth on the penultimate lap of the race but the Sahara Force India driver ended his afternoon in the turn three barriers after what appeared to be a failure of some sort.

His retirement promoted Valtteri Bottas into ninth for Williams Martini Racing, who was just able to hold off the advances of Pascal Wehrlein, who survived a poor start to claim the Manor Racing’s second ever points finish.

Esteban Gutierrez just missed out on points in eleventh for Haas, the third time in 2016 he has finished there, while Jolyon Palmer secured his best result since the season opening race in Australia with twelfth place for Renault.

Felipe Nasr ran as high as seventh for Sauber but fell to thirteenth at the chequered flag, and with Manor securing a point, this relegates the Swiss team to the bottom of the championship standings as the only team yet to score a point.

Kevin Magnussen was fourteenth for Renault after serving a five second penalty in his second pit stop for excessively defending his position from Wehrlein early in the race on the run down to turn two, making more than the one allowed move in an attempt to keep the Manor driver behind him, while the final two finishers were Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson and Manor’s Rio Haryanto.

Having started from the front row, Nico Hülkenberg’s race was not how he was hoping it would be, dropping down the order early and struggling with his grip levels on his Force India, ultimately retiring from the race with a few laps remaining when well out of contention for a points finish. The German also took a five second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Both Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa also pulled into the pits to retire in the closing laps, both having dropped out of points contention, with the latter having started the race from the pit lane after damage was found on his car overnight following qualifying.

The most high profile retirement of the race was that of Sebastian Vettel, who just after taking the lead when everyone in front of him made their pit stops saw his race end after his right rear Supersoft Pirelli tyre exploded on the front straight, pitching the Ferrari driver into a wild spin into the inside barrier and back across the track, necessitating the introduction of the safety car.

Daniil Kvyat was the first retiree, ending his race within a few laps of the start when the Scuderia Toro Rosso driver pulled off the circuit at turn one.

Max Verstappen - Credit: Octane Photographic Ltd

Max Verstappen – Credit: Octane Photographic Ltd

Red Bull Ring Race Result

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