The Red Bull driver crossed the line 1.5 seconds ahead of the charging Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen with the Finn's teammate Sebastian Vettel, a further 1.6 seconds adrift in third position
Redbull's Max Verstappen lifts the trophy after winning the Austrian GP yesterday. Pic/AFP
Max Verstappen survived a race of attrition that claimed even erstwhile championship leader Lewis Hamilton, to clinch victory in yesterday's Austrian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver crossed the line 1.5 seconds ahead of the charging Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen with the Finn's teammate Sebastian Vettel, a further 1.6 seconds adrift in third position. Hamilton retired on the 64th of 71 laps, ending a record run of 33 consecutive finishes in the points. But the race was lost long before then for the British champion.
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A strategic blunder by Mercedes under the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) cost him the lead at the pitstops, with the Briton emerging in fourth. Ironically, the VSC had been deployed to clear away the stranded Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, whose failure to finish notched up a double retirement for the German squad.
Vettel back on top
With Hamilton not finishing, the 15 points Vettel collected for the final spot on the podium were enough to move him back into the overall championship lead that he had conceded only last week.
He now leads Hamilton by one point, with 13 of the 21 races still to go. A spate of retirements for the top runners allowed Romain Grosjean to collect his first points of the season with a fourth-placed finish for Haas. Teammate Kevin Magnussen was fifth.
Force India sixth, seventh
Force India recorded a double-points finish with Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez sixth and seventh. Fernando Alonson scored points for struggling McLaren in eighth. The Sauber pairing of Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson rounded out the Top 10.
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