Drama in the final lap at the Austrian Grand Prix leads to Lewis Hamilton hoisting the trophy, relegating his teammate to fourth.
After a season of no love lost between Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, things looked to have turned a corner in the first half of the 2016 F1 season. However, it appears that relationship has regressed once more, after contact between the teammates ended Rosberg’s bid for a win today at the Austrian Grand Prix, and handing it to Hamilton.
On a day where it looked as if Hamilton would be out of contention with pit road miscues from his team, he would in fact battle back to come side-by-side in his teammate Rosberg in the final lap. In turn two, Hamilton would take the lead from Rosberg with a bump and contact between the two, damaging Rosberg’s front wing, sending him down to fourth on the grid.
Of course, the incident itself is a matter of perspective. Hamilton after the race on the podium discussed how it was Rosberg’s fault:
"“He made a mistake into Turn One and I had an opportunity to go around the outside in Turn Two. I left a lot of room on the inside and I guess he looked up and crashed into me.”"
However, there are two sides to every issue and incident, with Rosberg giving his two cents:
"“We were battling. I was struggling a little bit with my brakes because they got a bit hot in the end and my tyres were degrading so that gave Lewis a chance. Nevertheless, I was confident I could defend accordingly and bring it home. I had the inside position, a strong position, and went a bit deep into the corner, but that’s fine cause I dictate, but l was very surprised that Lewis turned in and that caused a collision.”"
Outside of the final lap incident, Hamilton led from the pole before a confusing one-stop then suddenly two-stop pit strategy would hand the lead to Rosberg following problems with the left rear wheel on a pit stop. These circumstances would ultimately lead to the clash in turn two.
Max Verstappen would come home second on the day, with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen filling out the podium in third. His teammate Sebastian Vettel would be forced to retire following a tire blowout on Lap 27, continuing the struggles for the Scuderia team in finishing races. Strong finishes would come from Jenson Button for McLaren in sixth, Romain Grosjean for Haas F1 in seventh, and a surprising run by Pascal Wehrlein for Manor Racing in tenth.
Here are the full results from the Austrian Grand Prix:
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Mercedes AMG
- Max Verstappen, Tag Heuer, Red Bull Racing
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Scuderia Ferrari
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, Mercedes AMG
- Daniel Ricciardo, Tag Heuer, Red Bull Racing
- Jenson Button, Honda, McLaren
- Romain Grosjean, Ferrari, Haas F1
- Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari, Scuderia Toro Rosso
- Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, Williams Racing
- Pascal Wehrlein, Mercedes, Manor Racing
- Esteban Gutierrez, Ferrari, Haas F1
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, Renault Sport
- Felipe Nasr, Ferrari, Sauber
- Kevin Magnussen, Renault, Renault Sport
- Marcus Ericsson, Ferrari, Sauber
- Rio Haryanto, Mercedes, Manor Racing
- Sergio Perez, Mercedes, Force India
- Fernando Alonso, Honda, McLaren
- Nico Hulkenberg, Mercedes, Force India
- Felipe Massa, Mercedes, Williams Racing
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, Scuderia Ferrari
- Daniil Kvyat, Ferrari, Scuderia Toro Rosso
must read: RaceDay Rewind - 1998 Austrian Grand Prix
Nico Rosberg retains the points lead over Lewis Hamilton by eleven points heading into the next round one week away in Great Britain. See the British Grand Prix on Sunday, July 10 at 8:00 am eastern live on CNBC.