F1 Austrian GP: Hamilton Wins After Final Lap Crash Pushes Rosberg to 4th

Lewis Hamilton raced to victory at the Formula One Austrian GP after a collision with Nico Rosberg at Turn 2 of the final lap, bringing some nail biting action to the race weekend.

By Sameer Contractor

1 mins read

Published on July 4, 2016

Highlights

Rosberg collided with Hamilton in Turn 2 of the final lap of the race
Vettel's run was cut short after his right rear tyre exploded in lap 26
Rosberg received a 10s penalty and 2 penalty points for the collision

Lewis Hamilton raced to victory at the Formula One Austrian GP after a collision with Nico Rosberg at Turn 2 of the final lap, bringing some nail biting action to the race weekend. The collision that is currently under investigation saw Rosberg crash into Hamilton, which eventually caused the former to lose on his lead and get pushed to the fourth spot as both Max Verstappen of Red Bull and Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari passed the Mercedes driver as he struggled to limp towards to the chequered flag with a broken win taking the fourth spot. Sebastian Vettel had a disappointing race as his Ferrari's right rear tyre exploded on Lap 26 causing the driver to spin and crash into the right-hand barrier on the straight, and eventually cut his run short in the race. The blowout also caused damages to Rosberg's Mercedes. The race definitely was the most unfortunate for Rosberg, who led Hamilton for most of the race and also benefitted from an alternative strategy as compared to that of his team-mate. Add to that, Hamilton's two slow pitstops had pretty much sealed the deal for Rosberg, until the collision that allowed the former to gain the lead despite going wide. The Austrian GP started with Nico Hulkenberg at the pole position on the grid, but the lead was short-lived for the Force India driver as Hamilton took over in Turn 1 being pushed to the fifth position behind Button, Raikkonen and Ricciardo. Despite starting sixth on the grid, Rosberg ensured to maintain his lead for most of the race, but only to have missed the podium by a whisker. The incident has cost the German driver quite dearly with respect to his 2016 drivers' standings, with Rosberg's lead cut from 24 points to 11. Lewis Hamilton Austrian GP Further down, Daniel Ricciardo finished at a disappointing fifth spot ahead of Jenson Button and Romain Grosjean, while Carlos Sainz managed to finish eighth, having recovered from an engine failure. Valtteri Bottas took ninth for Williams, ahead of the Manor of Pascal Wehrlein. Hulkenberg, who had started in the front row, could not hold on to his position with the complaint of vibrations and had to retire early. He also picked up a 5-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane. Among other retirements were Felipe Massa and Daniil Kvyat who started from the pitlane with Massa facing structural damage and Kvyat getting a new chassis. Kvyat had to retire early due to a technical failure, while Massa and Fernando Alonso also did the same. Talking about the crash. The final lap saw Rosberg take the inside line that made Hamilton take his chance with the outside. With Rosberg facing braking issues, he went deep into the corner making for an inevitable collision with Hamilton. The impact damaged Rosberg's front wing, making him lose the opportunity on the following straight as Hamilton rejoined the track after going wide and took the lead with little effort. A stewards' investigation was also initiated against Rosberg for continuing the final lap with a 'seriously damaged car'. Rosberg has been given a 10 second penalty and 2 penalty points for last-lap incident. Clearly, the collision could have been avoided altogether and once again highlights the growing fight within the Mercedes camp. With Rosberg still in the lead with respect to driver standings, there will be no stopping Hamilton now at the British GP at Silverstone next weekend. Image Courtesy: Formula One