Nico Rosberg won the Austrian Grand Prix from team-mate Lewis Hamilton to extend his championship lead to 29 points. The Mercedes team had a strategy in place and that is the reason why though Rosberg started 3rd and Hamilton 9th, both the drivers saw themselves battling it out for the top spot yet again.
Rosberg went in for an early pit stop which saw him emerge on soft tyres ahead of both the Williams and even team mate Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg hence had more grip and clearly had the power at his disposal. Hamilton too had a good start and in the first lap itself he pulled from 9th to 4th and then there was no looking back.
The fight to the finish was between the two Mercedes cars but Williams did not return empty handed. Massa could not convert his pole position into a podium finish but Valtteri Bottas looked significantly quicker than the Brazilian and steered past him to take 3rd place. Massa was fourth followed by ex-Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso.
It was a good day for Force India driver Sergio Perez as he looked in fine form and was race leader for a few laps. He passed Magnussen with five laps to go and made sure he was in the points. Perez came in sixth while Magnussen finished in 7th place. There was a fight for 8th place as well as Daniel Ricciardo snatched it from Nico Hulkenberg on the final lap.
It was indeed a frustrating day for defending champion Sebastian Vettel as he retired mid-way into the race. Kimi Raikkonen completed the top ten ahead of Jenson Button.
All eyes now move to Silverstone for the 10th race with Mercedes steering clear of the competition with a massive lead in both the drivers and constructors championship.
Drivers Championship Table
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 165
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 136
3. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 83
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 79
5. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 60
6. Nico Hulkenberg Force India 59
7. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 55
8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 43
9. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 30
10. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 29
