With a quick turnaround from the French Grand Prix, Formula One travels into the Styrian hills of Austria this weekend and to the super-fast Red Bull Ring. Join The Roar for a live blog of the race from 11pm AEST.
This 4.3km power circuit owned by the energy drinks giant returned to the calendar in 2014, when since it has been a race dominated by Mercedes AMG.
Could this season see someone else on top at the end of the 71-lap Austrian Grand Prix? Well the list of contenders is lengthy to topple the Silver Arrows, who again have brought a sizeable aero upgrade this weekend.
What will be intriguing to see is whether Mercedes AMG are affected by a return to the standard-spec Pirelli tyres this weekend, having dominated in Spain and now France when the compounds were less 0.6mm of tread depth.
The soft, supersoft and ultrasoft tyres will be available. A one stop race is quite likely.
Valtteri Bottas claimed his first pole position of 2018, pipping his teammate Lewis Hamilton by a hundredth of a second. Given that this is a circuit that the Finn has previously won at, Bottas is in the best position to win his first race of the year.
The Ferraris were to occupy the second row of the grid, with Sebastian Vettel heading Kimi Räikkönen, though a 3-place grid penalty will relegate the German to sixth – having been penalised for impeding Carlos Sainz during qualifying.
Given that Ferrari’s race pace during Friday practice was strong in comparison to Mercedes AMG, a good start and the right strategy will keep Vettel in the hunt.
Ferrari will be seeking, as they achieved in Canada to win their first race in Austria since 2003, when Michael Schumacher won the final iteration of this grand prix.
At their home race, Red Bull will line up fourth and sixth with Max Verstappen in front of Daniel Ricciardo.
The pair will be seeking good starts in order to mix it with the leaders, but for the Aussie – he will have to negotiate the star of qualifying in Romain Grosjean, who is fifth.
Big points are on offer for both the Haas team and Renault, and given that Grosjean is yet to score in 2018 – there is big onus for him to deliver.
Who will hold the momentum in the championship following this race? Tune in for live blog coverage on The Roar from 11pm AEST, to see who will stand above in Austria.
anon
Roar Pro
Sensational evening of racing with the F1 and MotoGP. As good as the result was for Vettel, if he didn't get that penalty he would have romped to victory collecting 25 to Hamilton's nil. Bit of a let off today for Hamilton.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
That then wraps up this live blog of the Austrian Grand Prix. Thanks again for tuning in and I look forward to having your company again in 7 days time on The Roar for the all-important British Grand Prix. Until then, it's servus from me!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
-------- DRIVER'S -------- 146 - Sebastian Vettel 145 - Lewis Hamilton 101 - Kimi Räikkönen 96 -- Daniel Ricciardo 93 -- Max Verstappen 92 -- Valtteri Bottas 37 -- Kevin Magnussen 36 -- Fernando Alonso 34 -- Nico Hulkenberg 28 -- Carlos Sainz 23 -- Sergio Perez 19 -- Esteban Ocon 18 -- Pierre Gasly 13 -- Charles Leclerc 12 -- Romain Grosjean 8 --- Stoffel Vandoorne 4 --- Lance Stroll 3 --- Marcus Ericsson 1 --- Brendon Hartley 0 --- Sergey Sirotkin
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
----- CONSTRUCTOR'S ----- 247 - Scuderia Ferrari 237 - Mercedes AMG 189 - Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 62 -- Renault Sport 49 -- Haas Ferrari 44 -- McLaren Renault 42 -- Force India Mercedes 19 -- Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 16 -- Alfa Romeo Sauber 4 --- Williams Mercedes
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RACE REPORT It was an Austrian Grand Prix to remember for Red Bull Racing, with Max Verstappen winning his first race of the season and the team’s first at the Red Bull Ring circuit. 71-laps of mayhem saw the dual retirements of Lewis Hamilton and pole sitter Valtteri Bottas, who both succumbed to mechanical failures, resulting in Mercedes AMG’s first double DNF since the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. Having led going into the first corner, Hamilton conceded command after a strategy blunder saw the Silver Arrows not pit the Briton under the Virtual Safety Car for which was implemented to clear Bottas’ stricken car. Red Bull and Ferrari both double stacked their cars under that brief intervention, which resulted in Verstappen assuming the lead of the race from Kimi Räikkönen. Sebastian Vettel was forced to work his way up the order from sixth – having had to pass Hamilton on track for position. Tyres were a major talking point during the race, with both Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo suffering from high levels of blistering on their rear tyres. The duo were forced to make additional pit-stops, though even for Ricciardo – his race ended with a mechanical failure too. In the end, a charge from the Ferraris who had been light on their rubber wasn’t enough to deny Red Bull and Verstappen a victory on home soil. Though crucially, Vettel’s third place sees him regain the lead of the championship. Having had both their cars qualify inside the top ten, Haas achieved their best result in Formula One in what was their 50th grand prix. Romain Grosjean who up until this race had scored no points in 2018, recorded a team best fourth – with Kevin Magnussen equalling a season best fifth. It was a milestone race also for Force India, celebrating their 200th grand prix since their inception in 2008. Esteban Ocon led Sergio Perez for sixth and seventh, with the team scoring another healthy swag of points. Points were also scored by both Saubers as Marcus Ericsson found himself back inside the top ten, whilst Charles Leclerc’s impressive run of form continued – having battled Fernando Alonso once again, but this time lost to the Spaniard who started from pit-lane and finished eighth. Their first double DNF in more than two years, has resulted in Mercedes AMG losing their lead in the constructor’s championship to Ferrari. Vettel’s lead in the standings over Hamilton is only by a single point, heading to the British Grand Prix next week.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
STANDBY FOR RACE REPORT AND UPDATED STANDINGS
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RESULTS FROM THE 71-LAP AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX 1 M. Verstappen 2 K. Räikkönen 3 S. Vettel 4 R. Grosjean 5 K. Magnussen 6 E. Ocon 7 S. Perez 8 F. Alonso 9 C. Leclerc 10 M. Ericsson 11 P. Gasly 12 C. Sainz 13 L. Stroll 14 S. Sirotkin 15 S. Vandoorne RET L. Hamilton RET B. Hartley RET D. Ricciardo RET V. Bottas RET N. Hulkenberg
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
POST-RACE INTERVIEWS - Hosted by Mark Webber VERSTAPPEN - "It was very hard to manage the tyres and we managed to hang on until the end." RÄIKKÖNEN - "I had to back off a little bit [at the start]." "We just ran out of laps and its a shame because we had a great car today." VETTEL - "We were chasing him [Max] down and we couldn't make it." "It was damage limitation, but the pace and tyre were pretty good."
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS THE AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX! Red Bull have won at the Red Bull Ring, ahead of Ferrari who had Kimi Räikkönen come home a solid second. And after his grid penalty, Sebastian Vettel finishes third and crucially takes the lead of the championship.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 71/71: FINAL LAP
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 70/71: Ericsson has passed his teammate Leclerc for P9 too. 2.3 seconds between Max and Kimi. Is it too late though?
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 69/71: 3 LAPS TO GO 2.5 seconds between the top two.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 68/71: 5 LAPS TO GO Still a sizable gap between Verstappen and Räikkönen, but anything could happen yet!
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 67/71: Gap is under 3 seconds now at the front of the field. Now or never for Räikkönen! The Saubers both in the points now with Gasly relegated by Leclerc and Ericsson.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 66/71: Alonso up into P8 now, with Gasly and Leclerc both in the points too behind him.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 65/71: Meanwhile 3.6 seconds is the gap between Verstappen and Räikkönen at the front. No matter where he finishes now, Vettel will have the lead in the championship after Hamilton's retirement.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 64/71: HAMILTON IS OUT OF THE RACE! The championship leader has pulled over to the side and has lost power in his Mercedes AMG. A 33 race streak of points scoring finishes has come to an end, as the Silver Arrows suffer a double DNF.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 63/71: Kimi just lost half a second there, having had the gap as low as 3.5 seconds and it is back to 4 seconds to Verstappen. Vettel now closer to his teammate, who was caught up behind the lapped Haas car.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 62/71: Perez gains a position, passing his teammate Ocon being on the fresher tyres. Alonso within DRS range of Leclerc as he seeks to collect a championship point.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 61/71: Gap to Verstappen down to 4 seconds now. Vettel from third is setting those sectors purple!