F1 - Austrian Grand Prix: Verstappen Wins Dramatic Race, Mercedes Blow Up
It was the first time Mercedes had suffered a double DNF since Spain 2016, when Hamilton and Rosberg crashed on lap 1, with that race having the exact same podium as this one; the first time Hamilton had retired since Malaysia 2016, when his engine failed and ultimately cost him the title; and it was the first time Mercedes and suffered a double DNF from purely mechanical issues since returning to F1 in 2010.
The Mercedes cars lined up on the front row with Bottas on pole, but he suffered an awful start, dropping to 4th, with Raikkonen challenging Hamilton for the lead, but locked up into Turn 3. This allowed Bottas to swoop around the outside of both Raikkonen and Verstappen at Turn 4.
Verstappen then made slight contact with Raikkonen at Turn 6 in an effort to pass the Fin, which he did so successfully.
Hulkenberg was the first man to retire after his Renault engine combusted rather impressively.
Hulkenberg's Renault expires on the start-finish straight
However it was on lap 14 when pole man Valtteri Bottas slowed from 2nd place, and retired at Turn 4 from a loss of hydraulic pressure.
This triggered a Virtual Safety Car, in which all front runners except Hamilton stopped. Mercedes chief strategist James Vowles then came over the radio to apologies for.
When Hamilton did stop, he came out in 4th place, with Verstappen leading.
Then came a moment that is rarely seen, as Lewis Hamilton and Sebastien Vettel went wheel-to-wheel into Turn 3, with Vettel aggressively squeezing Hamilton wide in a move similar to Rosberg on Hamilton during the final lap of the 2016 race. On that occasion, the pair made contact, but this time the move was clean.
Ricciardo was a major victim of the unexpected massive tyre blistering, with an extra pitstop deemed necessary for the Red Bull driver. Hamilton soon followed suit, however just 12 laps later, Hamilton pulled off the road with a loss of fuel pressure.
Verstappen cruised to the win from then, with Vettel and Raikkonen closing at a rapid rate, but not quickly enough.
Romain Grosjean finished an amazing 4th, finally scoring his first points of the year ahead of his Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen.
Full Results:
