Mercedes Is Back On Top!

After failing to claim victory in Montreal two weeks ago, the chance of Mercedes reclaiming the top spots on the podium in Spielberg seemed unlikely when the pole position was seized by William’s Felipe Massa while teammate, Valtteri Bottas, took second place. Nico Rosberg took third while teammate (and rival), Lewis Hamilton, unfortunately took a spin during qualifying which landed him in ninth place.

But the mighty Mercedes duo showed that a minor setback would not defeat true champions. In the opening lap, Hamilton made a tremendous recovery and surged to fourth place, putting him back in contention for victory. His two pit stops took 1.9 seconds longer than Rosberg’s, which in the end, was exactly how much slower he was to cross the finish line. Rosberg’s win extends his lead over Hamilton in the drivers' standings, which is now a gap of 29 points.

Eyes were on Bottas as he finished the race six seconds behind Hamilton, scoring his first podium finish of his F1 career. The Finnish driver joins the exclusive list of champion Finnish drivers, which includes Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen and, well, Rosberg’s father, Keke Rosberg.

Best champagne that Bottas has ever tasted.

image: autosport.com