SPIELBERG, Austria -- Lewis Hamilton claimed a dramatic last-lap victory at the Austrian Grand Prix after colliding with teammate Nico Rosberg while passing for the lead.
The battle had been brewing for several laps and Hamilton seized the opportunity on the outside of Turn 2, with Rosberg going deep into the corner and colliding with his teammate. The incident wiped out Rosberg's front wing and the championship leader had to crawl to the flag, dropping to fourth behind Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen in the final corners.
Despite starting sixth, Rosberg led Hamilton for the majority of the race as he benefitted from an alternative strategy and two slow Hamilton pit stops. However, in the final three laps Hamilton closed on Rosberg and he finally got his chance to pass on the approach to Turn 2 on the final lap.
Rosberg took the inside line, forcing Hamilton to try his chances on the outside, but the German -- who appeared to be suffering with a brake issue -- went deep into the corner and a collision became inevitable. The impact damaged Rosberg's front wing, making him a sitting duck on the following straight as Hamilton rejoined the track at full speed and retook the lead.
Rosberg also faces an stewards' investigation for "failing to stop with a seriously damaged car", which could drop him further down the order. The result as it currently stands provides yet another twist in the tale of the 2016 drivers' championship, with Rosberg's lead cut from 24 points to 11.
Daniel Ricciardo will be disappointed to finish fifth ahead Jenson Button and Romain Grosjean, who both outperformed their cars to score solid points for McLaren and Haas respectively. Carlos Sainz recovered from an engine failure in qualifying to finish eighth ahead of Valtteri Bottas in the Williams and Pascal Wehrlein, who scored the first point of his career and Manor's first point since Monaco 2014.
The story of the race
Hamilton led from the start but was shuffled behind Rosberg at the first round of pit stops. Rosberg pitted on lap 10 after working his way up to third place in the opening stint, while Hamilton waited until lap 21 to make his first stop. The long first stint appeared to be in reaction to Ferrari, whose cars both started on the super-softs and were running long into the race, but it ultimately cost Hamilton time compared to his teammate. By staying out on older tyres both Hamilton and the Ferraris lost out as Rosberg made up time with a series of impressive laps on his new set of soft tyres. After a 4.2s pit stop, Hamilton rejoined behind Rosberg on lap 21 but his tyres were 11 laps younger.
Sebastian Vettel, who had yet to pit, dropped out of the lead after suffering a right-rear tyre blowout on a 27-lap old set of super-softs. The incident brought out a safety car for four laps, which played into Rosberg's hands by extending his stint length on soft tyres. There was some speculation over whether the Mercedes would finish without a second stop, as Verstappen and Raikkonen ultimately did, but on lap 54 it became clear the pair would have to pit again.
Hamilton had a second slow stop as he took on another set of soft tyres, meaning Rosberg retained the lead when he pitted a lap later for super-softs. Initially the difference in tyre compound appeared to hand Rosberg the advantage, but an apparent brake issue in the final laps saw his small lead come under threat in the final three laps. Hamilton did not need asking twice, and after a couple of dummy runs on the 69th and 70th laps, finally lined Rosberg up for his move at Turn 2 on lap 71. The resulting collision could split the Mercedes garage once more, with team boss Toto Wolff calling the incident "brainless", but sets the scene for a tantalising British Grand Prix at Silverstone next weekend.