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Mercedes’ Valtierri Bottas drove a superb race to secure victory in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix. This was his second win of the season, finishing just 0.6 seconds ahead of world championship leader Sebastian Vettel for Ferrari. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo made them proud by finishing third at home, fending off Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages.
This was the first race since the Hamilton and Vettel fiasco that happened in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Vettel apologized and Hamilton said he had moved on from it. People thought it was going to be a hostile environment around this two but they squashed any doubts, as they were seen talking and laughing in the pit area ahead of the practice sessions.
Here’s a Quick Rundown of the Events from the Weekend...
First Practice
Mercedes driver, Lewis Hamilton set the pace in the first practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix as he left rival Sebastian Vettel trailing. He was 0.449 seconds quicker despite using the slowest ‘soft’ tyre and Vettel the fastest super-soft. Vettel was the fourth fastest, behind Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas. Elsewhere, Fernando Alonso finished ninth.
Second Practice
Lewis Hamilton was also fastest in the second practice ahead of Vettel. This time, he was 0.147 seconds faster than Vettel. Valterri Bottas finished third, with the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo finishing fourth and fifth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari.
In the third practice, however, Vettel moved to the top as it was not a good session for Hamilton. He finished with an apparent brake failure, with his Mercedes emitting a huge cloud of brake dust from the right wheel as the left locked.
Qualifying
Before the qualifying race, it was announced that Hamilton was to take a five-place grid penalty for the main race. Mercedes were forced to change the Briton’s gearbox ahead of the event - and as the previous unit had not completed six consecutive events, Mercedes and Hamilton had to be penalized. This was to be a huge blow for Hamilton as he needed to win the race to close the deficit to Vettel.
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas clinched pole position ahead of Vettel, with Hamilton finishing third. However because of his five-place grid penalty, he was going to start in eight position. Rainkonnen, Ricciardo and Verstappen finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
Main Race
It was a dramatic beginning to the race. As Bottas made a start so good many thought it was a jump start, Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat braked too late into turn 1 and ran into Fernando Alonso. This caused Alonso’s McLaren to collide with Verstappen, who spun. Verstappen and Alon so had sufficient damage that they were forced to retire. Kvyat continued, receiving a drive through for his trouble.
Bottas easily ledfrom pole and dominated the first half of the race. When Vettel changed tyres to ultrasoft, the race came alive. From lap 47 onward, Vettel was on fire, steadily hunting down Bottas; whose tyres had started fading. Despite the state of his rubbers, Bottas clung on to take a huge victory that was well-earned.
Hamilton’s fight from behind could only yield fourth place. On lap 70, he was side-by-side with third placed Ricciardo, but Ricciardo had the inside line and held firm. Raikonnen was a long way back in fifth for Ferrari.
Standings
Sebastian Vettel now has a 20-point lead heading into the British Grand Prix this weekend, with 171 points to Hamilton’s 151. The win for Bottas makes him close the gap between him and Hamilton, as he is now on 136, with 107 for Ricciardo, who finished third in Austria. Raikonnen comes in a distant fifth with 83 points.
For the constructors’ standings, Mercedes still retains top spot with 287 points. They are still followed by Ferrari and Red Bull, who have 254 and 152 points respectively. Formula 1 action moves on the British Grand Prix this weekend, where home boy Lewis Hamilton would be hoping to win in front of his country people.
