Hamilton wins after final lap Rosberg collision

Lewis Hamilton survived contact in a final lap move on team-mate Nico Rosberg to win a thrilling Austrian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes drivers were locked in a battle from the halfway point when Rosberg inherited the lead after Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel suffered a race ending puncture, which brought out the Safety Car.

The fight continued after the second round of pitstops as Hamilton failed to make the undercut work to regain the lead he held from pole position until lap 22.

A soft tyre shod Hamilton charged in the final laps before making a move around the outside of Rosberg at Turn 2 on the last lap.

The pair touched sending Hamilton wide before a second piece of contact damaged the front wing of Rosberg, which allowed his team-mate to pass and take the win.

The second clash occurred when Hamilton was squeezed by Rosberg while trying to rejoin the track.

The damage to Rosberg saw him drop to fourth allowing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen into second with Kimi Raikkonen claiming third.

Rosberg was set to face a stewards investigation after failing to stop his damaged car.

Verstappen assumed the lead on lap 57 while the two Mercedes drivers pitted, but it didn’t take long for both Rosberg and Hamilton to pass the Dutchman.

It proved to be a highly impressive drive from the teenager as he nursed home a set of soft tyres for 56 laps to claim second.

Ferrari challenged the Mercedes duo in the early stages with Raikkonen holding second until he pitted a lap after Hamilton and slipped to fifth behind the Red Bulls.

Raikkonen did however recover in the final laps to claim third, while team-mate Vettel retired on lap 27.

Daniel Ricciardo came home in fifth having struggled for pace in the early laps. A switch to ultra-soft tyres late on saw him climb back into contention in the final laps.

McLaren’s Jenson Button made a strong start from third on the grid but was unable to maintain the speed of the front runners.

However, the Brit was able to finish in a solid sixth ahead of Haas F1’s Romain Grosjean and the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz.

The Williams of Valtteri Bottas finished ninth, while Manor Racing’s Pascal Wehrlein produced a stunning drive to score the final point.

After starting from the front row, Nico Hulkenberg endured a difficult race which ended in retirement along with Felipe Massa who was fighting for a top 10 finish.

Rosberg’s championship lead has been cut to 11 points ahead of next weekend’s British Grand Prix.

Result: Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix

Championship Standings