Dutchman Max Verstappen of Red Bull stayed cool in the heat to win the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg, while Sebastian Vettel took over first place in the driver standings with only one point.
Verstappen took his fourth Grand Prix victory ahead of the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, who came third.
Lewis Hamilton began the race top of the standings but he and his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who started in pole position, both dropped out with mechanical problems.
Max Verstappen takes fourth career victory.
Verstappen took advantage of Mercedes’ misfortune to take a fourth career victory, the Red Bull driver inheriting the lead, having previously put a good early move on Raikkonen, and then managing his tyres beautifully as several of his rivals struggled with blistering.
The key quote of Max.
“It was amazing. It was very hard to manage the tyres as well. We really had to look after them – there was a lot of blistering. We managed to hang on until the end. The tyres are very sensitive and it can happen in the first five laps, if you’re too aggressive, the tyre starts to open up and the damage is done. From previous experience in practice sessions, I know it can happen. I tried to manage, I could see my tyres opening up. I just had to drive around the issue. Luckily I could manage it until the end of the race.” – Max Verstappen
Everything that could go wrong for Mercedes, did go wrong. First Bottas pulled off with a gearbox problem. Then their strategists made a mistake by not pitting leader Hamilton during the subsequent virtual safety car period. Then Hamilton rolled to a halt when he lost fuel pressure. It meant Mercedes suffered their first double DNF since the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. Hamilton’s record 33-races-in-the-points.
An unhappy Lewis Hamilton looked for positives on Sunday after suffering his first retirement of the season and losing his lead in the drivers' championship at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The defending world champion looked in control and cruising to victory after taking the race lead at the start, but strategic errors and then an engine failure ended his race.
"We've got to understand how we went wrong at both ends," he said. "Ultimately, we have to take positives where we can. We were the quickest. We've got to keep working hard."
Hamilton ceded first place in the standings to Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel at the Red Bull Arena.
Hamilton also relinquished the lead of the championship, with Sebastian Vettel - who finished third behind Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen - overturning a 14-point deficit to lead by a single point.
What’s next?
The final chapter of Formula 1’s first-ever triple header, the British Grand Prix, takes place at Silverstone on July 6-8. 2018.
Full race results for the Austrian Grand Prix, the ninth round of the 2018 F1 season at the Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria.
Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix – Full race classification
1. Max Verstappen NED Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 71 laps
2. Kimi Raikkonen FIN Scuderia Ferrari +1.504s
3. Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari +3.181s
4. Romain Grosjean FRA Haas F1 Team +1 lap
5. Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas F1 Team +1 lap
6. Esteban Ocon FRA Sahara Force India F1 Team +1 lap
7. Sergio Perez MEX Sahara Force India F1 Team +1 lap
8. Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren F1 Team +1 lap
9. Charles Leclerc MON Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team +1 lap
10. Marcus Ericsson SWE Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team +1 lap
11. Pierre Gasly FRA Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda +1 lap
12. Carlos Sainz Jr. ESP Renault Sport Formula One Team +1 lap
13. Sergey Sirotkin RUS Williams Martini Racing +2 laps
14. Lance Stroll CAN Williams Martini Racing +2 laps*
15. Stoffel Vandoorne BEL McLaren F1 Team +3 laps
Did not finish
Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport 62 laps
Brendon Hartley NZL Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 54 laps
Daniel Ricciardo AUS Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 53 laps
Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport 13 laps
Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault Sport Formula One Team 11 laps.
*Post-race time penalty for ignoring blue flags.
0 comments:
Post a Comment