SPIELBERG, Austria, (Reuters) – Nico Rosberg won the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix in a Mercedes one-two finish yesterday to stretch his championship lead over team mate Lewis Hamilton to 29 points after eight races. Williams drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa, who had started on the front row, finished third and fourth respectively on a sunny afternoon at the Red Bull Ring in the southern Styrian hills.
The victory was Rosberg’s third of the season and his team’s seventh. It was also their sixth one-two finish of the year and came after Massa had ended their run of seven successive pole positions.
Rosberg now has 165 points to Hamilton’s 136 in the drivers’ standings with 11 rounds remaining.
“It was not the easiest of races, trying to manage certain things which were right on the limit on the car. But in the end I had a very, very fast car again,” said Rosberg, interviewed on the podium by former Red Bull racer Mark Webber.
“It was fantastic to win today. It was great also to get a one-two here in Austria. It’s been great to come back here,” added the German.
Rosberg’s sixth career victory was also a personal milestone since it took him past his 1982 world champion father Keke’s tally of five. In the first Grand Prix held in Austria since 2003, champions Red Bull were eclipsed at their own track with quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel retiring and Australian Daniel Ricciardo finishing eighth.
Vettel slowed to a cruise after the opening lap, complaining of a lack of drive, and although he got the car going again his race was over and he retired to save the engine while 20th and a lap down on the leaders.
“It was all unfortunate, we would have loved to have given the local fans a lot more love here today,” said Ricciardo. “We tried to do all we could but unfortunately we couldn’t really get much more from the race today.”
