Austrian Grand Prix: Hamilton takes Victory following action packed final lap

Rosberg came from sixth on the soft tyres to gain the lead, however on Lap 70 Hamilton burst down the outside of the German, which also led to yet another collision between the Mercedes pair.

Replays show Rosberg, who leads the Drivers’ Championship by just 11 points now, turned into turn 2 too late, which consequently led to Hamilton having to make contact with his teammate.

The collision saw Rosberg lose part of his front wing as he slipped down to fourth, whilst Hamilton flew into the lead to collect his 3^rd win of the season.

Mercedes Chief Toto Wolff described the incident as ‘brainless’ speaking to Sky F1, as both drivers blamed one another for the collision. Rosberg was later hit with a 10 second time penalty for causing a collision, to which he later said he ‘disagreed with.’

Hamilton was booed when he lifted the trophy, as he closes in on Rosberg going into his home Grand Prix at Silverstone next week. The Brit will hope for more of the same following an emphatic final few laps on the fresher tyres in Austria. Rosberg initially benefitted from Vettel’s retirement as the yellow flag came out with the German having pitted just moments before, but in the end Hamilton took full advantage of his fresher tyres to gain the lead late on.

There was more bad news for Ferrari, as Sebastian Vettel looked to be heading for a strong podium finish before his right rear tyre exploded early on in the race. This comes just weeks after the Red arrows came under scrutiny about the reliability of their cars.

Kimi Raikkonen achieved a third place finish, but was beaten by Red Bull youngster Max Verstappen, who led the race in parts following another impressive drive from the Dutchman.

Jenson Button once again proved why he is considered one of the best drivers in wet conditions, as he crossed the line in 6^th, only beaten by the two Mercedes, two Red Bulls and Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari.

There was first ever points for Manor’s Pascal Wehrlein as the young German took advantage of a last lap error by Sergio Perez. Elsewhere Daniil Kvyat couldn’t improve on his qualifying performance as he crashed out, whilst his Torro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz crossed the line in 8^th position.

Austrian GP results

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:27:38.107

2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, +5.719s

3. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, +6.024s

4. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, +16.710s

5. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, +30.981s

6. Jenson Button, McLaren, +37.706s

7. Romain Grosjean, Haas, +44.668s

8. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, +47.400s

9. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, +1 lap

10. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, +1 lap

11. Esteban Gutierrez, Manor, +1 lap