After one race where there was actual drama and intrigue regarding the identity of the race victor, it was back to the same old, same old for the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix as Mercedes again went 1-2 with Nico Rosberg holding off Lewis Hamilton for the top two spots and those pair a whopping eight seconds over third-place Valtteri Bottas in his Mercedes-powered Williams. It was the first podium finish for Bottas in 2014. After both experienced brake issues at the Canadian Grand Prix two weeks ago that knocked Hamilton out of the race and crippled Rosberg’s car, this time, Rosberg held off a charging Hamilton in Austria to win by 1.9 seconds with Bottas another eight seconds back.
Hamilton starting in ninth place due to a less-than-sterling qualifying session, eventually worked his way up to second behind Rosberg while Bottas in his Mercedes-powered Williams car was able to stay within spitting distance of Rosberg and Hamilton for most of the race. Such was not the case for four-time defending champion Sebastian Vettel, who encountered mechanical issues on the opening lap and gradually dropped back through the course of the race until the team asked him to retire from the race in Lap 34. Only 11 cars were on the lead lap by the end of the race – but 19 cars were able to finish the race.
In the season point standings, Rosberg extends the season lead over Hamilton with 165 points to Hamilton’s 136 followed by Daniel Ricciardo in third with 83 points.
The 2014 Formula One racing season continues with the British Grand Prix in Silverstone on July 6, 2014.
2014 Austrian Grand Prix Results
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 71 1:27:54.976 3 25
2 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 71 +1.9 secs 9 18
3 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 71 +8.1 secs 2 15
4 19 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 71 +17.3 secs 1 12
5 14 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 71 +18.5 secs 4 10
6 11 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 71 +28.5 secs 15 8
7 20 Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 71 +32.0 secs 6 6
8 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-Renault 71 +43.5 secs 5 4
9 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 71 +44.1 secs 10 2
10 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 71 +47.7 secs 8 1
11 22 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 71 +50.9 secs 11
12 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 70 +1 Lap 13
13 99 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 70 +1 Lap 16
14 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 70 +1 Lap 22
15 17 Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 69 +2 Laps 18
16 10 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault 69 +2 Laps 19
17 4 Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 69 +2 Laps 21
18 9 Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 69 +2 Laps 20
19 21 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 69 +2 Laps 17
Ret 25 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Renault 59 +12 Laps 14
Ret 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 34 +37 Laps 12
Ret 26 Daniil Kvyat STR-Renault 24 +47 Laps 7