FÓRMULA-1

FINALLY, VERSTAPPEN COMES TO THE TOP

Were any further evidence required that this season's Formula One world championship may come down to the last man standing, the Austrian Grand Prix was surely enough to silence any doubters.Max Verstappen may have won Red Bull's home race but with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas both failing to finish for Mercedes it dealt the team to body blow. Hamilton's title lead has disappeared and the British driver now faces the herculean task of refocusing and bringing his best to the British Grand Prix next weekend.Nobody could deny Verstappen deserved the victory, the first time Red Bull had won the Red Bull Ring; he ran the race to perfection. As he showed exemplary control, pace and skill while managing his tires, others suffered from blistering that severely hampered their races.But he did so while Mercedes fell to pieces in more ways than one on a day described by the team as cruel and brutal. Bottas, who had started from pole, retired on lap 14 with a hydraulic problem linked to the steering while Hamilton ground to a halt on lap 63 with a drop in pressure in the fuel system. Hamilton saw his lead of 14 points swing to a single-point deficit to Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who finished third, behind his teammate Kimi Räikkönen.
Yet Hamilton's retirement was the culmination of a race that his team had already given away. After taking the lead into turn one, the British driver looked to have it in his pocket. But Mercedes once again made the wrong call when the virtual safety car was used on Bottas's retirement.
Ferrari and Red Bull took advantage and pitted but Mercedes kept Hamilton out. He had to stop under normal racing conditions and lost track position, emerging in fourth, behind Verstappen, now in the lead, Daniel Ricciardo and Räikkönen. Hamilton was frustrated and worried that he would have pushed hard to try and make up places, overworked his tires and was forced to take a second stop. He was at best looking at damage limitation even though he was moot when his car stopped.
He was confused as to how the team had lost the lead, then frustrated he could nothing about it, and finally disconsolate. After the decision not to pit the VSC, the team even took the unusual approach of having James Vowles, the chief strategist, take responsibility in refocusing their driver. "It's my mistake, just give us what you can," said Vowles. "I have thrown away the win today."



the guardian.com