Austria – Race: Max Verstappen wins, disaster for Mercedes
The race in Austria kept the spectators on the edge of their seats until the checkered flag. In the end, it's Max Verstappen who wins at home for Red Bull while the two Mercedes had to retire due to the unreliability of their new engine! Sebastian Vettel, in 3rd, regains the lead in the championship. Romain Grosjean finishes in a very impressive 4th place!
The starting grid was somewhat modified compared to the qualifying results as Sebastian Vettel received a three-place penalty for blocking Carlos Sainz in Q2. As for Brendon Hartley, he was dropped to the back of the grid for making a tactical engine change. Fernando Alonso started from the pits for changing the front wing and his MGU-K.
At the lights out, Valtteri Bottas was not able to replicate the rocket start he had last year. On the contrary, he spun and allowed his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, to get away. Behind them, Kimi Räikkönen executed a very good start and slipped between the two Mercedes.
However, at the third corner, he runs wide, allowing Max Verstappen to threaten him. Focused on preventing the Red Bull driver from gaining the advantage, the Ferrari driver left the door open for Valtteri Bottas, who was able to reclaim second place.
On lap 12, Nico Hülkenberg, then in 9th place, saw his engine explode on the main straight, after starting to lose power in the penultimate corner. The following lap, it was Valtteri Bottas’s Mercedes that slowed down due to a loss of electronic power. This triggered the deployment of the virtual safety car.
The strategists of Red Bull and Ferrari then brought in their two drivers for consecutive pit stops while Lewis Hamilton stayed on track. The four cars then went back out on soft tires, with the intention of reaching the finish with those compounds.
In the 20th lap, Kimi Räikkönen went wide once again on the third turn, allowing Daniel Ricciardo to overtake him at the entrance of the next turn. This places both Red Bulls on the last two steps of the podium. At this point in the race, they are in an ideal position to win since they are maintaining a gap of around 13 seconds, while a pit stop costs about 21 seconds on the Austrian circuit. Lewis Hamilton then makes another pit stop on the 25th lap and comes out in fourth, just ahead of Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari. At the halfway point of the race, the top 10 are Verstappen, Ricciardo, Räikkönen, Hamilton, Vettel, Magnussen, Grosjean, Ocon, Saine, and Ericsson.
If Max Verstappen was no longer threatened until the end of the race, Daniel Ricciardo’s left rear tire quickly betrayed him. This allowed Kimi Räikkönen to overtake the Australian on the track. Subsequently, he returned to the pits to switch to Super Softs. Sebastian Vettel saw an opportunity and got the better of his British rival. Mercedes then publicly apologized to its driver through its technical director, James Allison.
At the 53rd lap, Lewis Hamilton was forced to pit again as his rear tires weren’t able to make it to the end. He then switched to the Super Soft tires but found himself behind Daniel Ricciardo.
But in the next lap, the Australian’s mechanics fail him as well. On his birthday, he is forced to retire. Shortly after, it’s Brendon Hartley, who had climbed up to 10th position, also has to pull his Toro Rosso to the side of the track.
This avalanche of retirements allowed the three French drivers, Romain Grosjean (5th), Esteban Ocon (7th), and Pierre Gasly (9th) to find themselves in the points, while the Monegasque Charles Leclerc was once again able to enter the top 10, for the 5th time in 6 races! But this situation does not remain valid for long as Esteban Ocon has to concede to his teammate Sergio Perez while Fernando Alonso manages to find an opening!
Seven laps from the finish, the disaster continues for Mercedes: it’s Lewis Hamilton’s machine that is forced to retire due to mechanical issues, marking his first retirement since Malaysia 2016!
Hamilton’s incredible 33-race points scoring streak comes to a close#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/55rABVcziY
— Formula 1 (@F1) 1 July 2018
This puts Sebastian Vettel back at the top of the championship, while both Saubers are able to overtake Pierre Gasly towards the end of the race. To find both drivers of the Swiss team in the points, you have to go back to China 2015. Esteban Ocon regains 6th place in the last lap by overtaking his teammate! Similarly, Charles Leclerc takes advantage over his teammate in the last loop.
From our special correspondent in Austria
