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Hello and welcome to ESPN's coverage of the Austrian Grand Prix from the Red Bull Ring. --- 14:00: Hamilton returns to pole as the rest of the field take their positions. Here we go. ---
--- 13:59: Hamilton leads the pack away for the formation lap. Maldonado, Perez, Raikkonen and Ricciardo on the soft compound. Everyone else on the option tyre, the red-striped super-soft. --- 13:58: The tyre blankets are coming off. Nearly time for the formation lap. ---
Hard to tell if that's sarcastic or not from Renault. It probably should be. -- 13:55: I'm going to put my neck on the line. Vettel to win from Hamilton and Rosberg. --- 13:54: Cloudy in Spielberg, but no rain yet. Current temps - 15 air, 27 track. Humidity 49%. --- 13:52: Less than ten minutes to go. --- 13:50: Ricciardo, Alonso and Button will all serve different penalties in the race as a result of their engine penalties. Ricciardo will serve five seconds at his first pit stop, Alonso has a ten-second stop-go and Button has a drive-through. Messy situation but that's the way it is. --- 13:47: The Austrian national anthem plays on the grid. The drivers haven't gone to the front of the grid this time, however. Cameras show Grosjean sitting next to his Lotus listening pensively. --- 13:45: Strategy wise, it seems the choice today is between one and two stops, presuming it doesn't rain. We saw in Canada the negatives with a one-stop dominated race, so let's hope we see a bit of variation today. --- 13:43: Important not to discount Williams today. Massa and Bottas line up 4th and 6th and both seemed pretty positive about their long run pace. --- 13:40: Let's hope for some rain this afternoon, too. If nothing else, it'll give us the chance to see Verstappen in action in wet conditions. He's quite handy in the wet. --- 13:35: So, can Ferrari really challenge this afternoon? Certainly they can, but Kimi Raikkonen's low start won't help matters. Sebastian Vettel will be a lone gunner today but if he can get in front of one or both Mercedes off the line Ferrari's long run pace from practice suggests he'll be tough to pass again. |
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Lap 1 |
Great start from Rosberg and he gets the jump on Hamilton into Turn 1. Hamilton gets back alongside him into Turn 2 but can't get by again. He tries again at Turn 3 but Rosberg places his car well. Oh my. Alonso is on top of Raikkonen's Ferrari! Both drivers look OK but the safety car is out. Alonso goes straight to Raikkonen to check he's OK. |
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Lap 2 |
Kvyat comes in to the pits for a new nose and put on soft compound tyres. That replay is terrifying. Raikkonen appears to wobble coming out of Turn 3 and Alonso just collects him. He came so so close to hitting Raikkonen in the open cockpit. Stevens has pulled up at the side of the road, so his race is over. "Is Fernando OK, is Fernando OK?" Button asks McLaren. They confirm he's fine. |
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Lap 3 |
Seeing the start again, tremendous start from Rosberg and great driving from the German to keep Hamilton behind through the next two corners. Kvyat's front wing damage came from contact with Perez. |
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Lap 4 |
Button pits having picked up some debris from Alonso and Raikkonen's shunt. He switches to the soft tyre. |
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Lap 5 |
Button tells McLaren he wants to do the entire race on this set of soft tyres, after serving his drive-through penalty which he will do when the safety car comes in.
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Lap 6 |
Rosberg backs up the pack and then bolts through the final corners. |
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Lap 7 |
Sainz and Grosjean clatter wheels at Turn 3. Grosjean's Lotus seems to be magnetic around those Toro Rosso rookies... |
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Lap 8 |
Fastest lap from Rosberg in clean air. He leads by 1.5s. Vettel three seconds behind Rosberg. Replay shows Sainz understeering across into Grosjean, which forced him wide and allowed Perez past. Button is crawling around the circuit with a very ill-sounding Honda. Oh dear. |
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Lap 9 |
Rosberg does another fastest lap, a 1:12.629, and now leads by two seconds. Button told to box the car and retire. What an awful weekend for McLaren. |
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Lap 10 |
Rosberg is pumping out the fastest laps and goes quicker again. His lead is 2.3s. Nice little battle developing behind Hulkenberg, who has Verstappen and Bottas within 1.5s of him. |
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Lap 11 |
Perez, currently 10th, is told his soft tyres will be better than Grosjean's super-softs in six or seven laps. |
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Lap 12 |
Hamilton and Vettel have no answer to Rosberg's pace at the moment. The German does another fastest lap, a 1:12.157. Verstappen told his front brakes are too hot as Grosjean has a wide moment at the final corner. |
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Lap 13 |
Perez the only driver on the soft tyres in the top ten. Replay shows Grosjean just entering that turn a little too hot and getting wide across the kerbs and tarmac. |
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Lap 14 |
Hamilton and Vettel do personal bests. Hamilton moves back to within two seconds. Vettel four seconds down the road. Lotus tells Grosjean he needs to get past Perez soon. "I'm trying!" replies the Frenchman. Unless Vettel is holding something back, Mercedes has this one-two in the bag at the moment - looking at the pace of the front runners. The stewards announce they will investigate Alonso and Raikkonen's crash after the race. |
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Lap 15 |
Bottas dives down the inside of Verstappen at Turn 2 for fifth position. Verstappen tries to catch Bottas on the run down to Turn 3 but he can't get close enough. "Great overtake," Williams says. Very tidy move. |
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Lap 16 |
Hamilton chipping away at Rosberg's lead but still 1.8s behind. Hulkenberg does a personal best lap. The Force India looking very handy out there today. "For your info Dany, we do have quite a bit of bodywork damage," Red Bull tells Kvyat. |
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Lap 17 |
Grosjean still not getting close enough to Perez for a pass, though he gives it a serious look at Turn 2. Rosberg doing well to manage the gap out in front. You feel the German needs a race win at the moment. |
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Lap 18 |
Red Bull still struggling for pace. Ricciardo currently 13th and complaining about understeer. |
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Lap 19 |
Grosjean opens up the DRS and locks up heavily behind Perez. He's pushing hard. |
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Lap 20 |
Another fastest lap from Rosberg, a 1:12.001. Lotus asks Maldonado if Grosjean ahead is holding him up. "Yes, a little bit," comes the reply. Interesting to see how they'll manage this. |
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Lap 21 |
Rosberg flying and leads by 2.4s. Vettel a distant third currently, currently on similar pace to Massa. |
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Lap 22 |
Ericsson pulls up on the pit straight, but he then gets going again. Replay shows him looking down at his steering wheel as he did so. "It's on again!" Ericsson said. "It just went black, the whole screen." |
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Lap 23 |
DRS enabled again after being briefly disabled for Ericsson's slow car. Bottas turning up the wick a bit behind Hulkenberg. His last lap was half a second faster and the gap now just 1.5s. |
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Lap 24 |
Grosjean finally pits for soft tyres. "It's been a pretty bad weekend for all of us, but we won't let it get us down," Button tells reporters. Got to respect McLaren for the positive attitude they've displayed throughout this. Red Bull could learn a thing or to. |
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Lap 25 |
Rosberg's lead now four seconds. Bottas has a go on Hulkenberg around the outside of Turn 3 and he successfully dispatches the Le Mans winner. Big lock up as he did so but that's another good move from the Finn. |
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Lap 26 |
Hulkenberg pits for soft tyres. Sainz also comes in for fresh rubber. Hulkenberg gets out ahead of Ricciardo in 11th. Seems Sainz had a really slow stop, problem at the front end of his car. |
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Lap 27 |
Grosjean and Nasr having a little squabble out on track and the pair go wheel-to-wheel through Turn 3. Nasr eventually has to yield, good racing from both men. |
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Lap 28 |
Hulkenberg has undercut Bottas successfully, as the Williams driver emerges behind the Force India. Replay shows him getting very close to Verstappen as he was released. Could be a penalty, that. Bottas will have to do it all over again after passing Hulkenberg so well earlier. |
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Lap 29 |
Real shame not to see Vettel matching Mercedes' pace. Not a great omen for the next few races. Remarkable how Mercedes seems to be able to turn the wick up on those engines every Sunday. |
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Lap 30 |
Verstappen all over the back of Kvyat but the Russian defends well on the inside. Verstappen powers past on the entry to Turn 3, lovely stuff on the newer tyres. That puts him into 10th place. |
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Lap 31 |
Hamilton's front tyres look a lot healthier than Rosberg's at the moment. This race will be won and lost on race strategy now. Will the world champion stay out for longer on this stint? He's got a large gap to make up, it's currently around three seconds. Perez and Maldonado yet to pit, hence their current positions. |
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Lap 32 |
Grosjean dives down the inside of Kvyat into Turn 2 and gets by for 11th. Kvyat going backwards currently. Sainz complaining about what sounds like an engine failure. |
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Lap 33 |
One more lap for Rosberg before his pit stop. Hamilton told to pick up the pace, too. |
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Lap 34 |
Replays show a big lock up for Rosberg at Turn 2. Hamilton just two seconds behind. Rosberg pits from the lead, handing the lead to Hamilton. What can the world champion do now? Seems Rosberg had to lock up heavily as he came into the pits after getting on the grass a little bit. |
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Lap 35 |
Rosberg goes purple through the final sector on those fresh softs, so he's not having much of a problem on new tyres. No sign of a pit stop for Hamilton so far. Massa pits. |
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Lap 36 |
I tell a lie, Hamilton pits from the lead. This one could be close. Or not - Hamilton feeds out comfortably behind Rosberg. Looks like the same sort of gap as before. Fastest lap from Rosberg that lap too. Grosjean has a moment off track and complains about a gearbox issue. That's a real shame for the Lotus man as he looked well placed for some good points this afternoon. Train of cars behind Perez and Maldonado, who are yet to pit. Bottas has got past Hulkenberg. |
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Lap 37 |
Vettel pits and it's a slow stop!! Real problem with the right rear tyre and he's dropped behind Massa! Bottas going for it on Maldonado and powers past him on the long straight before Turn 3. Perez the next man. Hamilton under investigation for crossing the line at the pit exit. |
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Lap 38 |
Replay shows a problem with the wheel gun for Vettel's stop. Sainz climbs out of his Toro Rosso. He complained about his engine a few laps ago. Grosjean crawls down the pit lane with a box full of neutrals, retiring the car. |
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Lap 39 |
Hamilton gets a five-second time penalty for crossing the white line. That will probably have no impact on his race unless he gets ahead of Rosberg. Vettel will be kicking himself. Replays show it quite clearly. |
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Lap 40 |
Bottas and Hulkenberg still nicely matched out there in the battle for fifth. Maldonado and Perez have swapped positions after their pit stops. Vettel four seconds behind Massa. Maldonado has a look down the outside of Kvyat at Turn 2, can't get by and has to fend off Nasr. The Lotus man gets the move done in Turn 3 and Nasr follows suit a few corners later. What a horrible weekend for Red Bull, they just have no pace at all. |
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Lap 41 |
I haven't spoken much about Nasr but he's had a great weekend. Good job in qualifying yesterday and he's in the points today. |
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Lap 42 |
With a 16 second lead over Massa, that Hamilton penalty won't have any impact on his race position unless something pretty major goes wrong for the world champion. |
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Lap 43 |
Perez the latest man to pass Kvyat, getting by the Russian at Turn 1. |
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Lap 44 |
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Lap 45 |
Marc says: "This race needs rain." Kimi, meanwhile, confirms there was no contact before his crash with Alonso. Just lost control of the car with wheelspin. |
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Lap 46 |
Mercedes telling Rosberg debris has been dislodged from his car. Perez, with fresher super-soft tyres, putting Nasr under heavy pressure in the battle for tenth. Vettel chipping away at Massa. |
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Lap 47 |
Perez goes for it again on the outside of Turn 2 but can't get close enough, though he powers past Nasr on the run down to Turn 3. "They are killing us on braking," Nasr tells Sauber. |
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Lap 48 |
Siddhesh says: "Rosberg driving very well for someone whom ESPN picked for only #3 this weekend!" Was hoping no-one would bring that up. I also said Vettel would win the race at the start of this commentary. There's going to be a real fight between Massa and Vettel for third. |
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Lap 49 |
Vettel 2.4s behind Massa. Ricciardo currently holding Maldonado off in eighth. Good drive from the Australian so far. |
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Lap 50 |
Maldonado eventually powers past Ricciardo on the straight leading down to Turn 2. Nothing much Ricciardo could do about that. |
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Lap 51 |
Jyothi says: "I think its hammer time now or never come on lewis..." |
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Lap 52 |
Ricciardo pits, waiting five seconds before Red Bull put on super-soft tyres, serving the rest of his engine penalty. |
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Lap 53 |
Will says: "Boring boring boring. And I'm a fan that watches every race. Another race ruined by penalties penalties penalties." Vettel has chipped away a few tenths on the gap to Massa, he's just over two seconds down. |
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Lap 54 |
Vettel has a bit more fuel on board than Massa but that early safety car period will have negated the need to conserve fuel for the end. Replays show Hamilton clobbering the kerb at the final corner. Lovely slow-mo image with sparks coming from the bottom of his car. |
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Lap 55 |
The Massa/Vettel gap isn't changing massively, but looks like it'll be a tasty little battle in time for the end of the race. |
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Lap 56 |
A few nervy faces at Williams. The gap now two seconds, Massa is really pushing as he wobbles through Turn 5. He's just set a personal best lap, though it's two hundredths slower than Vettel's last one. |
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Lap 57 |
Replays show brake dust coming from Bottas' right front as he comes through Turn 2. Lots of pressure placed on that tyre at this circuit. Vettel has knocked another tenth off Massa's advantage, he's 1.9s behind. |
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Lap 58 |
Perez told there's more to come from his tyres. He's currently 9th. |
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Lap 59 |
Perez does his fastest lap of the afternoon, so Force India weren't lying. |
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Lap 60 |
Ricciardo hunting down Nasr, he will fancy his chances of a point this afternoon. That will be scant consolation for Red Bull but at least it's better than what's happening at McLaren. |
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Lap 61 |
The two on-track battles about to come together. Massa and Vettel coming up behind Nasr and Ricciardo. The Australian leaps down the outside of Turn 3 but runs wide, giving Nasr the place back briefly before Ricciardo powers past on the inside. |
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Lap 62 |
There's a bit of a battle shaping up between Verstappen and Maldonado for seventh. The power difference between those engines is clear to see. With DRS Maldonado is right up behind the rookie. |
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Lap 63 |
We haven't seen much of the leader this afternoon, he's exactly five seconds ahead of Hamilton and currently cruising. |
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Lap 64 |
Siddhesh says: "Tad naughty, but just imagining what would happen to Hamilton's position if say 2 laps from the end there was a safety car, and it ends the race that way..." That would be very interesting indeed! He'd lose quite a lot of places if that did happen. Perez complaining about vibrations in his Force India. Verstappen has responded to Maldonado's pressure by setting a personal best lap. |
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Lap 65 |
Vettel within DRS range of Williams. The gap has been around the eight tenths mark for a while now. Vettel only has six laps to get this done. Replay shows Maldonado getting very wide on the exit of Turn 1, dropping his car onto the kerb and doing very well to catch the car before it spun out into the wall. |
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Lap 66 |
Vettel now half a second down on Massa. He's inching closer, will he have enough time to pass? Rosberg complaining about vibration on his right front getting "stronger and stronger". |
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Lap 67 |
Four tenths now the gap. Vettel not close enough coming up to Turn 2 but is right behind him through the corner. With superior brakes Vettel's best chance will be through the middle sector - he doesn't have a straight-line advantage and overtaking opportunities are at a premium in Spielberg. |
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Lap 68 |
Merhi very nearly turning in on Vettel as he moves across to let Massa through. Vettel very brave to jump through the corner. Rosberg tells Mercedes "all eyes on that" about his vibrating front right. He sounds very concerned about those vibrations. Vettel gets alongside Massa through Turn 3 but can't pass. Verstappen fighting tooth and nail with Maldonado, forcing the Lotus man wide on the exit of Turn 3. |
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Lap 69 |
Vettel has just three laps to get himself on the podium. |
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Lap 70 |
Rosberg's lead is dropping but not enough to be a concern. He'll be trying to get the car to the finish. Maldonado has passed Verstappen, but on the run up to Turn 1 Verstappen dived across him and Maldonado had to take evasive action to avoid his car. That could have been a nasty collision. |
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Lap 71 |
Rosberg's lead only 2.2s but Hamilton will run out of laps to catch him. Vettel still going for it but Massa appears to have third position in the bag. Rosberg wins the Austrian Grand Prix Verstappen can't get close enough to Maldonado to get seventh back. Nor can Vettel to Massa, who claims his first podium of the year. "Yeah guys, yes! Come on guys," says Rosberg on the radio. A race won off the start line and with that wonderful lap just before Hamilton's pit stop. A welcome return to the podium for Massa, too. |
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Rosberg climbs on his car and waves to his team and the crowd. He looks pretty chuffed with himself and so he should.
He's lifted onto the shoulders of his mechanics in parc ferme. Massa gives the cameras a big thumbs up. Marc says: "It's nice to see Nico so happy. Too bad he's still going to lose the championship." |
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Kimi climbs out of his car and shakes hands with the Spaniard.
Good clean restart from Rosberg and he has plenty of space. No changes to the order into Turn 1.
