Hamilton wins Austrian GP after last lap crash with Rosberg

Image Courtesy: Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton emerged victorious in the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix that came to a climatic end after the Englishman collided with Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg on the final lap.

Hamilton had been breathing down the neck of Rosberg for the last five laps of the race, with the latter struggling under braking.

At the beginning of the final lap, Rosberg went wide at turn 1, reducing the gap between the two. Hamilton, sensing an opportunity, tried to go around the outside of turn 2 with disastrous results. Both drivers made contact, with Hamilton running wide in the run-off area and Rosberg losing his front wing in the process.

While the Brit was able to carry on and take the chequered flag in first position, Rosberg dropped down the order with a damaged car, finishing a disappointing fourth.

The last lap collision between the Mercedes duo promoted Max Verstappen to second place, with a charging Kimi Raikkonen following closely behind in third.

Daniel Ricciardo, who made a late final stop unlike Verstappen, was fifth on the road, with McLaren’s Jenson Button finishing an excellent sixth.

Further back, Romain Grosjean was classified seventh as Haas returned to points for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz, the sole surviving Toro Rosso, was eighth with Williams’ Valtteri Bottas finishing ninth.

Pascal Wehrlein scored Manor’s first points of the year in 10th, after Sergio Perez crashed on the final lap.

Nico Hulkenberg, who had started from the front row of the grid, also retired from the race, after a poor getaway and tyre degradation issues that forced him to take three pitstops.

by Rachit Thukral