Max Verstappen wins Austrian Grand Prix, both Mercedes retire
Max Verstappen claimed a shock first win of the 2018 Formula 1 season at Red Bull's home race as Mercedes' challenge imploded in a dramatic Austrian Grand Prix

Verstappen headed the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, who stole the championship lead from Lewis Hamilton by one point after Mercedes turned a one-two in qualifying into a double-DNF.
Poleman Valtteri Bottas retired with a gearbox problem while a strategy error under the ensuing virtual safety car ruined Lewis Hamilton's race and a loss of fuel pressure consigned him to a late retirement.
Hamilton and Raikkonen jumped Bottas on the run to Turn 1, with the leaders three-abreast, before Raikkonen tucked into Hamilton's slipstream and attacked into Turn 3 but locked up and ran wide.
That allowed Verstappen to challenge him on the run out of the corner but the Dutchman was rebuffed aggressively and Bottas was able to repass both on the outside of Turn 4.
Verstappen got inside Raikkonen two corners later and a slight nudge on the Finn's left-rear wheel pushed him wide and allowed the Red Bull driver to sneak through.
Bottas offered no threat to Hamilton before slowing on lap 14 of 71 and retiring on the escape road at Turn 4 with a loss of hydraulic pressure.
That triggered a virtual safety car under which the frontrunners all stopped except for Hamilton, a mistake that Mercedes chief strategist James Vowles came on the radio to apologise for.
Verstappen rejoined from his pitstop 13 seconds behind Hamilton, who ran 10 laps without being able to eke out the gap and eventually stopped.
That dropped him to fourth, handing Verstappen the lead, but Hamilton's misery continued a few laps later when Vettel forced his way past on the grass on the way up to Turn 3 and aggressively ran Hamilton wide on the entry to the corner.

Hamilton was gifted a place back just after mid-distance when Daniel Ricciardo had to pit to change tyres after battling a blistering left-rear.
The remaining Mercedes gave chase to Vettel after receiving another apology from Vowles over the radio but then had to make its own forced stop for the same reason as Ricciardo with 19 laps to go.
Hamilton's race lasted just another dozen laps before a loss of fuel pressure forced him off the road at Turn 3 and into retirement on the left-hand side of the circuit on the run down to Turn 4.
That ended a run off 33 consecutive races in the points for Hamilton, whose last retirement was his spectacular exit from the 2016 Malaysian GP with an engine failure.
His dramatic race gave the top three an easy run to the podium, with Raikkonen closing to two seconds of Verstappen by the end but not troubling the 20-year-old and likewise being unchallenged by Vettel - who had started sixth after a grid penalty then fell to eighth running wide on lap one.
Ricciardo should have finished fourth in Hamilton's absence but had already retired with an apparent gearbox problem just after Hamilton's second stop.
That meant Romain Grosjean ended his point-less start to the 2018 season in style with fourth place for Haas, the best result in the American team's fledgling F1 history.
His team-mate Kevin Magnussen battled back from losing places after not pitting under the Bottas-induced VSC to finish fifth and net Haas a huge points windfall.
Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez took advantage of the chaos to rise to sixth and seventh from 11th and 15th on the grid, ahead of pitlane starter Fernando Alonso.
The McLaren driver ran 19th early on and, after complaining at that point to his team over the radio that he refused to run in that position all race, used the VSC and a strong, long second stint to charge to eighth late on.
That included an aggressive move on Charles Leclerc, who reclaimed ninth on the last lap from team-mate Marcus Ericsson after the Swede was let by to try to catch and pass Alonso on fresh tyres.
While that bid failed, Ericsson was still able to complete a double-points finish for Sauber after an extremely long first stint on softs and late charge on fresh supersofts.
Nico Hulkenberg and Brendon Hartley joined the three frontrunners in retiring from the race.
Renault's Hulkenberg suffered a spectacular engine failure early on while Hartley stopped near the end after a bizarre mechanical failure forced him off-track at the penultimate corner and eventually forced him to stop at Turn 2.
Race result
Pos | Driver | Car | Laps | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Renault | 71 | 1h21m56.024s |
2 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 71 | 1.504s |
3 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 71 | 3.181s |
4 | Romain Grosjean | Haas/Ferrari | 70 | 1 Lap |
5 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 70 | 1 Lap |
6 | Esteban Ocon | Force India/Mercedes | 70 | 1 Lap |
7 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 70 | 1 Lap |
8 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Renault | 70 | 1 Lap |
9 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber/Ferrari | 70 | 1 Lap |
10 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 70 | 1 Lap |
11 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso/Honda | 70 | 1 Lap |
12 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Renault | 70 | 1 Lap |
13 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams/Mercedes | 69 | 2 Laps |
14 | Lance Stroll | Williams/Mercedes | 69 | 2 Laps |
15 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren/Renault | 65 | Gearbox |
- | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 62 | Fuel pressure |
- | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso/Honda | 54 | Mechanical |
- | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 53 | Exhaust |
- | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 13 | Hydraulics |
- | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 11 | Turbo |
Drivers' standings
Pos | Driver | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Sebastian Vettel | 146 |
2 | Lewis Hamilton | 145 |
3 | Kimi Raikkonen | 101 |
4 | Daniel Ricciardo | 96 |
5 | Max Verstappen | 93 |
6 | Valtteri Bottas | 92 |
7 | Kevin Magnussen | 37 |
8 | Fernando Alonso | 36 |
9 | Nico Hulkenberg | 34 |
10 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | 28 |
11 | Sergio Perez | 23 |
12 | Esteban Ocon | 19 |
13 | Pierre Gasly | 18 |
14 | Charles Leclerc | 13 |
15 | Romain Grosjean | 12 |
16 | Stoffel Vandoorne | 8 |
17 | Lance Stroll | 4 |
18 | Marcus Ericsson | 3 |
19 | Brendon Hartley | 1 |
20 | Sergey Sirotkin | 0 |
Constructors' standings
Pos | Constructor | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Ferrari | 247 |
2 | Mercedes | 237 |
3 | Red Bull/Renault | 189 |
4 | Renault | 62 |
5 | Haas/Ferrari | 49 |
6 | McLaren/Renault | 44 |
7 | Force India/Mercedes | 42 |
8 | Toro Rosso/Honda | 19 |
9 | Sauber/Ferrari | 16 |
10 | Williams/Mercedes | 4 |

Previous article
Rivals shocked by Haas’s Austria qualifying Red Bull-beating pace
Next article
Lewis Hamilton calls for 'bulletproof' Mercedes F1 strategy fix

About this article
Series | Formula 1 |
Drivers | Jos Verstappen , Max Verstappen |
Teams | Mercedes |
Author | Scott Mitchell |
Max Verstappen wins Austrian Grand Prix, both Mercedes retire
Trending
Starting Grid for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
F1 Fast Facts: Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
The back-bedroom world-beater that began a new F1 era
The first in a line of world beaters was designed in a back bedroom and then constructed in a shed. STUART CODLING recalls the Tyrrell 001
The clues Hamilton’s F1 contract afterthought gives to his future
The Formula 1 world reacted with surprise when it learned Lewis Hamilton’s long-awaited new Mercedes deal guarantees his presence on the grid only until the end of 2021. Both parties claimed publicly they were happy with the arrangement but, asks MARK GALLAGHER, is there more to it than that?
How a harshly ejected Red Bull star has been hooked by racing again
Driver-turned-DJ Jaime Alguersuari lost his love for motorsport when he was booted out of Formula 1 just as he was starting to polish his rough edges. Having drifted from category to category then turned his back on racing altogether in 2015, he’s come full circle and is planning a return in karts for fun
Why Mercedes isn't confident it's really ahead of Red Bull at Imola
While Mercedes struck back against Red Bull by topping the times at Imola on Friday ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the overall picture remains incredibly close. Despite having a possible edge this weekend, the reigning Formula 1 world champion squad is not taking anything for granted...
What Mercedes must do to keep its F1 title challenge on track
Mercedes may find itself leading the drivers' and constructors' standings after Lewis Hamilton's victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix, but it is well-aware that it came against the odds, with Red Bull clearly ahead on pace. Here's what the Brackley team must do to avoid its crown slipping
Why Tsunoda can become Japan’s greatest F1 talent
While Japan's fever for motor racing is well-documented, the country has yet to produce a Formula 1 superstar – but that could be about to change, says BEN EDWARDS
Why the demise of F1's hypocritical spending habit is cause for celebration
For too long, F1's richest teams have justified being able to spend as much as they want because that's the way they've always conducted their business. STUART CODLING says that's no reason not to kick a bad habit
The double whammy that is defining Vettel’s F1 fate
It's been a tough start to Sebastian Vettel's Aston Martin F1 career, with a lack of pre-season testing mileage followed by an incident-packed Bahrain GP. But two key underlying factors mean a turnaround is not guaranteed