Nico Rosberg crosses the finish line at the Austrian Grand Prix Sunday. The German won the race by 1.9 seconds over teammate Lewis Hamilton and leads the Briton by 29 points in the Formula One World Championship. [Photo by Getty Images]
SPIELBERG, Austria- Following disappointments in Canada and having to lose poll position the previous day, Nico Rosberg and Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton proved that their team can come back as the German led a 1-2 finish Sunday afternoon at the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.
Rosberg edged his British rival by less than two seconds, with Finnish pilot Valterri Bottas finishing in third, his first podium of his career. The win for Rosberg is his third of the season, and it increases his lead by 29 points over Hamilton in the world championship standings.
“It was not the easiest of races, trying to manage things”, he said. “But in the end I had a really fast car. It was fantastic to win today and it is great to have a one-two in Austria and it is great to come back here. Austria deserves a race and it has been spectacular.”
At the start, pole sitter Felipe Massa got his Williams off to a great start, while Hamilton by lap two, moved up the grid quickly from starting in ninth, to 5th. However, one driver who could not do anything right was Sebastian Vettel, who suffered an electrical malfunction, managed to regain the power in his car, but was pushed down one lap and decided to retire the car on lap 37.
Most of the grid had terrible problems on the circuit, especially with the brakes and the quick degrading of their tires. First pit stops began on lap 11, and by the next few laps, Sergio Perez found himself leading the race, and considering many would pit for tires, Perez found himself conserving his tire wear, being able to lead for 28 laps before his rubber degraded and was passed by both Rosberg and Bottas.
For the remainder of the race, the German and the Finn were battling one another, and near the end of the race, Hamilton joined them. But with the final pit stops done, Hamilton managed to grad second place, and with only a few laps to go, he was less than two seconds in back of his teammate. But Rosberg held on and increased his lead in the world championship with his third win of the season.
Massa headed up the rest of the grid with a disappointing fourth, while Fernando Alonso, who was briefly in the lead, finished in fifth. Perez ended up sixth, while Kevin Magnussen took seventh. Daniel Ricciardo just passed Nico Hulkenberg with one lap to go to finish in eighth, while Kimi Raikkonen took the last point position in tenth in his Ferrari.
For Rosberg, the next round is even better at Silverstone, where he won last season. This is also a race that he enjoys which could boost his lead in the world championship even more if he takes another win.
“Yes, I am looking forward to the next one,” (the race at Silverstone) he stated, “and it would be awesome to do another one (another victory) and give something back to our colleagues in the factory.”