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Lewis Hamilton wins Austrian GP after last-lap Nico Rosberg clash

Lewis Hamilton clinched victory in the Austrian Grand Prix following a last-lap collision with Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate Nico Rosberg

Battling for the lead at the Red Bull Ring, Hamilton closed in on Rosberg around the outside of Turn 2, only to be forced off the track as they again ran into one another.

Rosberg sustained severe damage to his front wing, and was eventually passed by not only Hamilton but also Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari.

Fourth meant Rosberg's championship lead has come down from 24 to 11 points and the stewards are investigating him for causing a collision and failing to stop with a seriously damaged car.

It was a breathless finish to a stunning grand prix that started with Hamilton finally turning pole position into a lead coming out of Turn 1 after failing to do so from his four previous 2016 poles.

From his sixth place on the grid after serving a gearbox-change penalty following his crash in final practice, Rosberg claimed one spot to run fifth at the end of lap one.

Soon after passing Jenson Button's McLaren for fourth, Rosberg pitted to switch from ultra-softs to the soft compound after 10 of the 71 laps.

While Rosberg rejoined 15th, 30s from the lead, Hamilton conjured a remarkable job to eke life out of the ultra-soft tyres that had blistered so quickly in practice - helped by the cooler conditions of race day.

Although Hamilton managed to keep second-placed Kimi Raikkonen at bay, Rosberg managed to eat into the Briton's advantage, slashing it to 21.9s by the time the Briton eventually pitted after 21 laps.

A slow replacement of the left-rear did not help Hamilton's cause, and he emerged a few seconds adrift of Rosberg.

Raikkonen pitted a lap later, but with Ferrari's poor strategy calling this year again exposed as he emerged in sixth behind both Red Bulls.

Sebastian Vettel stayed out and assumed the lead, one that lasted for just five laps before his right-rear tyre exploded down the main straight, with Pirelli citing debris on the track as the cause.

With Vettel stranded on track, the safety car was deployed and Rosberg led from Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo and Raikkonen at the restart, with the Mercedes soon pulling away.

Both would stop again, Hamilton coming in first with 19 laps to go and taking on used softs.

Again it was not the quickest from his crew, plus a poor Turn 2 for Hamilton enabled Rosberg to stay ahead after his stop for new super-softs a lap later.

The Mercedes then had to battle past Verstappen, who was nursing his softs on a 56-lap stint to the finish, before commencing a titanic scrap that ended in their last-lap contact and a crucial win for Hamilton.

Behind Verstappen, Raikkonen and the hobbled Rosberg, Ricciardo claimed fifth after a late stop for ultra-softs.

Button held his own among the frontrunners at first - holding second for seven laps - and finished sixth for McLaren-Honda, ahead of Romain Grosjean and Carlos Sainz Jr.

A last-lap crash for Sergio Perez after an apparent mechanical problem elevated Valtteri Bottas to ninth and his pursuer Pascal Wehrlein into 10th and a point for Manor.

The other Force India of Nico Hulkenberg went backwards from his first front-row start for five and a half years, making three pitstops for tyres and retiring from the midfield late on.

RESULTS - 71 LAPS:

Pos Driver Car Gap
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1h27m38.107s
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Renault 5.719s
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 6.024s
4 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 26.710s
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull/Renault 30.981s
6 Jenson Button McLaren/Honda 37.706s
7 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 44.668s
8 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso/Ferrari 47.400s
9 Valtteri Bottas Williams/Mercedes 1 Lap
10 Pascal Wehrlein Manor/Mercedes 1 Lap
11 Esteban Gutierrez Haas/Ferrari 1 Lap
12 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1 Lap
13 Felipe Nasr Sauber/Ferrari 1 Lap
14 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1 Lap
15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber/Ferrari 1 Lap
16 Rio Haryanto Manor/Mercedes 1 Lap
17 Sergio Perez Force India/Mercedes Brakes
18 Fernando Alonso McLaren/Honda Power Unit
19 Nico Hulkenberg Force India/Mercedes Brakes
20 Felipe Massa Williams/Mercedes Brakes
- Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Tyre
- Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso/Ferrari Mechanical

DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP

Pos Driver Points
1 Nico Rosberg 153
2 Lewis Hamilton 142
3 Sebastian Vettel 96
4 Kimi Raikkonen 96
5 Daniel Ricciardo 88
6 Max Verstappen 72
7 Valtteri Bottas 54
8 Sergio Perez 39
9 Felipe Massa 38
10 Romain Grosjean 28
11 Daniil Kvyat 22
12 Carlos Sainz Jr. 22
13 Nico Hulkenberg 20
14 Fernando Alonso 18
15 Jenson Button 13
16 Kevin Magnussen 6
17 Pascal Wehrlein 1
18 Stoffel Vandoorne 1
19 Esteban Gutierrez 0
20 Jolyon Palmer 0
21 Marcus Ericsson 0
22 Felipe Nasr 0
23 Rio Haryanto 0

CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP

Pos Constructor Points
1 Mercedes 295
2 Ferrari 192
3 Red Bull/Renault 168
4 Williams/Mercedes 92
5 Force India/Mercedes 59
6 Toro Rosso/Ferrari 36
7 McLaren/Honda 32
8 Haas/Ferrari 28
9 Renault 6
10 Manor/Mercedes 1
11 Sauber/Ferrari 0


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