Bottas hangs on to victory in Austria

Valtteri Bottas has withstood late pressure to claim victory in the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.

Having started from pole, the Mercedes driver led much of the race before coming under intense pressure from a charging Sebastian Vettel in the closing laps.

The Ferrari driver ran second throughout the 71-lap race and while he closed in the final laps was never close enough to make a move for the race lead.

Daniel Ricciardo secured the final podium place, fending off Lewis Hamilton who recovered from eighth on the grid to fourth at the flag.

A strong start from Ricciardo saw the Red Bull drive move into third on the opening lap, forcing his way through on Kimi Raikkonen at turn three.

The Ferrari driver then found himself falling backwards in the early stages, soon falling victim to the fast-starting Romain Grosjean who also looked to mount a challenge to Ricciardo, forcing the Australian to vigorously defended.

Max Verstappen’s race came to an early end after contact with Fernando Alonso at the opening corner, the incident triggered by Daniil Kvyat who’d locked his brakes and slid into the back of the McLaren.

Hamilton made slow progress in the early stages, spending the opening laps battling with the Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon.

The Mercedes driver climbed only to fifth before taking his only pit stop of the race on lap 32, rejoining without losing a place.

It triggered an immediate response from Red Bull, who pitted Ricciardo a lap later while Vettel was in on lap 34.

Bottas finally stopped from the lead on lap 41, the Finn making his way back on track as Raikkonen, who had yet to stop, temporarily took over at the lead of the race.

With fresh tyres, Bottas quickly caught and passed Raikkonen around the outside into turn four as the Ferrari driver struggled for grip on the same rubber he’d been on since the start of the race.

A late charge from Hamilton saw the Mercedes close on Ricciardo for the final podium spot in the closing stages of the race.

A mistake from Ricciardo at turn three on the penultimate lap afforded Hamilton a look around the outside at the following corner but was unable to make the move stick.

It was a similar story at the front of the race as Vettel chased Bottas, the Finn holding on to win narrowly from the championship leader.

Result: Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix

Championship Standings