As the very first stint endured, Hamilton had actually decreased the gap to Bottas, however the soft-tyre run was unexpectedly ended when the safety car was called out after Kevin Magnussen spun off with an obvious brake concern as he was being gone by Esteban Ocon into Turn 3.
Mercedes managed to turn its two cars and trucks around – both going onto the hard tires – without losing whenever for either one, and when the race resumed Bottas once again spotted clear.
Hamilton, nevertheless, was soon putting Bottas under severe pressure and he called the team to examine he would be permitted to choose his own engine mode, as Mercedes quickly prepared to reject the power units on both vehicles.
However as the leaders ran ever better together, Mercedes transferred to caution them about a potential transmission sensing unit concern that threatened the ongoing involvement of both automobiles. The race engineers of both Bottas and Hamilton warned their charges to stay off the kerbs prior to Mercedes chief strategist James Vowles intervened to inform them the concern was “important”.
As the leaders adapted their driving styles, Hamilton started to hang back from Bottas when the race was unexpectedly suspended again as George Russell retired from P13 with a loss of fuel pressure in his Williams.
Both Mercedes remained out on their difficult tyres, while Albon pitted from 3rd for a set of softs, rejoining in fourth.
Almost immediately after the race rebooted, it was suspended again as Kimi Raikkonen, who had actually just picked up fresh softs, lost his ideal front wheel running through the penultimate corner.
Pierre Gasly took seventh ahead of the returning Ocon for Renault, with Antonio Giovinazzi ninth for Alfa Romeo.
When he misjudged his braking while running behind Sainzs McLaren going into Turn 3 quickly prior to half-distance, Sebastian Vettel took 10th regardless of a spin.
Nicholas Latifi finished his F1 launching as the final runner on track in P11, with Albon a late retirement together with a host of other non-finishers who suffered various mechanical problems – except Daniil Kvyat who retired late on with a blown left-rear tire as he ran into Turn 1 with two laps to go.
Valtteri Bottas won a dramatic Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix from Charles Leclerc, after Lewis Hamiltons penalty for contact with Alex Albon dropped him from 2nd to 4th.
Bottas crossed the line as the winner of an attritional race 0.6-seconds clear of his team-mate, however Hamilton was right away demoted, which boosted McLarens Lando Norris to first F1 profession podium in third.
Hamiltons occurrence with Albon happened after completion of the races third safety cars and truck duration and after Mercedes had actually had to step in with its motorists due to crucial dependability warnings.
At the start, Bottas easily held the lead off the line and blasted to a two-second lead at the end of the opening tour, as Red Bulls Max Verstappen – the only top-10 starter on the medium tires – soaked up pressure from Norris after several cars consisting of Norris, Hamilton and Leclerc shot across the overflow at the exit of Turn 1.
Bottas commenced extending his lead as the race settled, alerted by his group to look after his automobile on the 3rd lap, as Verstappen tracked him.
Any hope Red Bull had of its alternative technique assisting Verstappen to a 3rd win in succession at the groups home track was crushed when the Dutchman unexpectedly lost power approaching Turn 1 on lap 11 of 71. He toured back to the pits trying to reset the issue – a presumed electrical problem – but was forced to retire.
That left Hamilton going after Bottas, as the world champion had actually previously demoted Norris, and after that Albon using DRS to blast by on the go to the Turn 4 on lap nine, and he quickly began eating into the leaders benefit.
Prior to the security vehicle returned, Albon had actually managed to get ahead of Racing Points Sergio Perez on the exit of Turn 3 after the Mexican secured and ran deep.
When the security vehicle peeled off for the last time, Bottas once again shot clear and on the following lap Albon – who had provided the position back to Perez, just to resume 3rd place while the race was still neutralised – attacked Hamilton around the beyond Turn 4. The Red Bull seemed to be ahead on the outside line however contact in between Hamiltons left-front and Albons right-rear sent Albon spinning off in the gravel – echoing the contact in between the set at last years Brazilian GP.
As Bottas raced to the flag in what was an 11 lap last sprint, Hamilton was offered a five-second time addition. That suggested Leclerc, who had been driving a low-key race prior to the security vehicles turned the action around, ended up second as he had actually stopped for fresh mediums throughout the Russell security car.
He benched Perez from 3rd on the road with a late relocation into Turn 3 5 laps to run and was close adequate to Hamilton to go up to second after the flag.
Norris claimed the last podium spot after enduring a late scrap with his team-mate Carlos Sainz and after that bumping previous Perez, who had actually tried to make a long run of mediums work earlier in the race, at Turn 3. But Norris required to close the gap to Hamilton rapidly and he set the races fastest lap on the last trip to take 3rd by 0.1 s once the world champions charge was applied.
Sainz completed fifth with Perez sixth after being provided his own five-second charge for speeding in the pitlane.
