adminTHIS was almost the drive of Lewis Hamilton’s career, but in truth a close second behind his team-mate Nico Rosberg was the best he could have hoped for in the Austrian Grand Prix.
While it was an outstanding recovery drive in a sensational race in front of 100,000 Austrian fans, it leaves the Briton even further adrift in the championship. Rosberg’s third win of the year extended his lead to 29 points.
After threatening for the first half of the race, Valtteri Bottas won the podium that Williams’ toil deserved. His team-mate Felipe Massa finished fourth.
The beaming Rosberg said: “It wasn’t the easiest of races trying to manage certain things which were a bit on the limit, but it was fantastic to win today.”
Before the race the Flying Bulls had been providing some astonishing displays of aerial acrobatics, but even they were outdone by Hamilton at the start. He was more like a Silver Bullet than a Silver Arrow.
Starting ninth, he scythed between two cars, putting himself in prime position for the long climb up to turn two. He quickly overtook Kevin Magnussen, before executing a brave move on Fernando Alonso into the Jochen Rindt curve.
By the end of lap one, Hamilton had made five places and was on the tail of his team-mate and principal foe. For someone who had only raced this circuit on a PlayStation, it was a remarkable opening.
The thorn in Hamilton’s side over the past four years, Sebastian Vettel, was having a wretched time. On lap two he lost power, only to regain it once dead last. The German eventually retired on lap 36 to save mileage on his stricken Renault engine. His team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, the winner last time out in Canada, had an equally frustrating afternoon, eventually finishing eighth. Red Bull’s frustration with Renault looks sure to bubble over after a humiliating afternoon at what is their own event.
It was also a bruising day for McLaren, who fell to sixth in the constructors’ championship. Kevin Magnussen drove well to seventh while Jenson Button was 11th.
Hamilton’s storming opening set in motion a relentless fight between the two Mercedes and the two Williams, with Bottas chasing Massa. Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team boss and Williams shareholder, could hardly believe his luck.
On lap 12, Rosberg made the first move, diving in for fresh rubber. Hamilton followed a lap later but, as has happened all too many times this year, the Briton enjoyed a marginally slower stop. As a result, he was behind Rosberg. Massa, the pole man, was the next to make his move. While the stop was clean, he lost the place to Rosberg and Hamilton quickly followed through.
The pit stop of the day went to Williams and Bottas, who changed all four tyres in 2.1 seconds; near world-record time. It allowed him to split the Mercedes.
The two white Martini cars were showing that qualifying was not a flash in the pan: they had the pace to keep up.
For the next 15 laps these four were stuck in a train behind Sergio Perez, on one of his usual alternative strategies. The straight-line speed of the Force India and the Williams was proving too much for the Mercedes, with the three long straights here.
Finally, on lap 27, Rosberg made a crucial lunge into turn two to pass Perez. Bottas followed immediately, while Hamilton had to wait one more lap. Although the Mercedes pair were nursing brake issues, they were faring much better than Daniil Kvyat. The young Russian had a frightening three-wheeled moment as his right-rear tyre gave way.
A few laps later and the front three were separated by little more than a second. It seems amazing to think the debate around the quality of “the show” was reignited once again this weekend.
Onto the second round of stops and this time it was Hamilton who blinked first. Once again, a slight delay in the pits did him no favours. With 30 laps to go and all the stops completed, Bottas had finally surrendered his role in the fight for the lead.
It was now for Rosberg and Hamilton to battle it out as they have done on countless occasions so far this year.
With a dozen laps remaining, the affliction which forced Hamilton to retire in Canada was hurting him again here. Front brake issues halted his charge, allowing Rosberg a two-second cushion. Hamilton wanted updates about where time could be found, but it was no use. Though a big lock-up for Rosberg on the final lap left Hamilton agonisingly close, the victory of his career was not to be. — The Telegraph
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