Photo: Daimler AG/ Image Edited by autoevolution
Arguably the hardest-fought Formula One race this year happened this weekend at the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix, on the Red-Bull Circuit (former A1-Ring).
After a somewhat troublesome qualification round on Saturday, when Nico Rosberg only managed the third fastest time while Lewis Hamilton didn't even get to post a time in the third session, the F1 W05 Hybrid Silver Arrows finished first and second for the sixth time this season.
An almost flawless race by Nico saw the German claim his third win of the season and his eight consecutive podium, while Lewis most definitely had the greatest start this year after having qualified ninth on the grid and gaining seven places during the race.
No less than seven of the top ten cars were powered by Mercedes-Benz, showing once again the downright domination of the three-pointed star this season, with the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix also being the 106th win for Mercedes-Benz in Formula One.
Nico Rosberg: “That was an amazing weekend for us here. It was so great to be back again in Austria – for me, it felt almost like being at my home race in Germany! This is a great track, with amazing fans and at the end also with a great result for us. I have to thank the team for a great car and a perfect strategy.
We chose the aggressive way to pit earlier and to overtake the Williams that way and that worked out quite well. We had to look after our brakes, which was a big job for the whole race. Also this worked out perfectly for me. Before the weekend, my target was to extend the lead in the championship, which I achieved. So I can be quite confident before the next home race for our team in Silverstone. A great job also from Williams, they were the second force today. Congratulations to them.”
After a somewhat disastrous qualification yesterday, Lewis Hamilton put all his driving skills to the test during the race in order to finish as high as possible, but he made the climb from ninth place to second look easy.
Lewis Hamilton: “After what happened yesterday in qualifying, today was all about damage limitation for me, so I’m as happy as I can be with a P2 finish. I have had the pace in the car all weekend here but I wasn’t able to capitalize on that, so getting second place from a bad weekend is pretty good, I guess. I had a rocket start – it’s something we’ve be working hard on all year and it was one of the best I’ve ever had. You can’t ever plan what’s going to happen but I managed to put the car in all the right places and climb to P4 by the end of the first lap.
We were managing the brakes a lot today, because I was in traffic for most of the race and it was the most important thing to bring the car home, so that was a real balancing act. But the strategy worked really well for me to get into second position, then I tried to start pushing Nico – but he didn’t make any mistakes and I didn’t have the chance to overtake. The guys did a fantastic job today to get us another one-two and the fans here in Austria have been insane. Next race is in Silverstone and all the positive energy from my home fans; it will be a special time and I’ll be going all out for the win.”
Unlike pretty much all the other seven races before the Austrian Grand Prix, today showed that Mercedes-AMG Petronas are no longer dominating the field so clearly, as both Williams single-seaters put up more than a fight with the Silver Arrows. Despite both teams being powered by Mercedes-Benz, it was Nico and Lewis who managed to get the upper hand in the end, but we will see if the upcoming race at Silverstone will be so hard fought between the two.
An almost flawless race by Nico saw the German claim his third win of the season and his eight consecutive podium, while Lewis most definitely had the greatest start this year after having qualified ninth on the grid and gaining seven places during the race.
No less than seven of the top ten cars were powered by Mercedes-Benz, showing once again the downright domination of the three-pointed star this season, with the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix also being the 106th win for Mercedes-Benz in Formula One.
Nico Rosberg: “That was an amazing weekend for us here. It was so great to be back again in Austria – for me, it felt almost like being at my home race in Germany! This is a great track, with amazing fans and at the end also with a great result for us. I have to thank the team for a great car and a perfect strategy.
We chose the aggressive way to pit earlier and to overtake the Williams that way and that worked out quite well. We had to look after our brakes, which was a big job for the whole race. Also this worked out perfectly for me. Before the weekend, my target was to extend the lead in the championship, which I achieved. So I can be quite confident before the next home race for our team in Silverstone. A great job also from Williams, they were the second force today. Congratulations to them.”
After a somewhat disastrous qualification yesterday, Lewis Hamilton put all his driving skills to the test during the race in order to finish as high as possible, but he made the climb from ninth place to second look easy.
Lewis Hamilton: “After what happened yesterday in qualifying, today was all about damage limitation for me, so I’m as happy as I can be with a P2 finish. I have had the pace in the car all weekend here but I wasn’t able to capitalize on that, so getting second place from a bad weekend is pretty good, I guess. I had a rocket start – it’s something we’ve be working hard on all year and it was one of the best I’ve ever had. You can’t ever plan what’s going to happen but I managed to put the car in all the right places and climb to P4 by the end of the first lap.
We were managing the brakes a lot today, because I was in traffic for most of the race and it was the most important thing to bring the car home, so that was a real balancing act. But the strategy worked really well for me to get into second position, then I tried to start pushing Nico – but he didn’t make any mistakes and I didn’t have the chance to overtake. The guys did a fantastic job today to get us another one-two and the fans here in Austria have been insane. Next race is in Silverstone and all the positive energy from my home fans; it will be a special time and I’ll be going all out for the win.”
Unlike pretty much all the other seven races before the Austrian Grand Prix, today showed that Mercedes-AMG Petronas are no longer dominating the field so clearly, as both Williams single-seaters put up more than a fight with the Silver Arrows. Despite both teams being powered by Mercedes-Benz, it was Nico and Lewis who managed to get the upper hand in the end, but we will see if the upcoming race at Silverstone will be so hard fought between the two.
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