F1: Bottas wins dramatic Austrian opener for champions Mercedes
The Mercedes pair of Bottas and Hamilton enjoyed a comfortable performance advantage throughout the 71-lap encounter, as per a report on formula1.com.
The Mercedes pair of Bottas and Hamilton enjoyed a comfortable performance advantage throughout the 71-lap encounter, as per a report on formula1.com.
The 34-year-old Briton fought with ferocious determination to win from fifth on the grid but was unable to resist the Finn, who started from pole and, with a two-stop strategy, had fresher tyres in the critical final laps.
Charles Leclerc could only finish sixth in the second Ferrari, meaning Mercedes clinched a record sixth successive constructors' world championship with their double podium finish.
Following his maiden victory at the Belgian GP last week, the 21-year-old Monegasque racer started Sunday's race again from the pole, his forth pole-start this season after Bahrain, Austria and Belgium.
The Finn, who is 31 points adrift of defending world champion Hamilton in this year's title race, clocked a track record fastest lap in one minute and 25.093 seconds to outpace the local hero by just 0.006 seconds.
In-form championship leader Lewis Hamilton bounced back to top the times ahead of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas in Friday's second practice for this weekend's Russian Grand Prix.
The 33-year-old Briton is gunning for his fifth world title this year, an achievement which would match the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio and leave him just two adrift of Michael Schumacher's all-time record.
Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel finished a lonely third for Ferrari.
Though the championship is settled, Valtteri Bottas has hopes of overtaking Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) for second place.
The championship leader surprised his rivals with a scintillating drive in the final session!
