Valtteri Bottas wins Formula 1 Grand Prix in Austria

DANIEL Ricciardo just wanted to party. But his fellow drivers weren’t having a bar of it, making for an awkward piece of live TV.

SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA - JULY 09: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Red Bull Racing celebrates finishing in third place on the podium during the Formula One Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on July 9, 2017 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

• Ricciardo snubbed on podium
• Bottas wins Austrian GP
• Star’s live radio slip
• Turn One chaos grips Austria

Live: F1 Austrian Grand Prix

F1’s visit to Austria gave viewers a thrilling finish as Daniel Ricciardo held off Lewis Hamilton for third place in a nailbiting final lap.

THE Austrian Grand Prix wrapped up with Valtteri Bottas pulling off a remarkable victory, sitting in first place for the majority of the race and closing out a rampaging Sebastian Vettel after the German star accused him of jumping the gun. Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo finished third behind Vettel, making it his fifth podium in a row.

11:49pm

Star shies away in awkward shoey moment

Daniel Ricciardo just wanted to party after taking another podium. But Valtteri Bottas wasn’t having a bar of it. The victor ran away from the elated Aussie as he poured champagne into his boot and forced it upon him.

Bottas’ escape made for a weird piece of live television as F1 commentator Martin Brundle tried to clean up the mess. Little did he know he’d be Dan’s next victim.

In an epic moment, former world champion Brundle downed a sweaty bubbly in front of thousands of fans.

DANIEL RICCIARDO SHOIE

(he just raced 71 laps in that shoe.) pic.twitter.com/G8p4lcvP2g

— justin lew block (@JBlock49) July 9, 2017

Ricciardo reflected on the huge success which sees him on a career-best streak of five podium finishes in a row.

“Five in a row is nice and it’s pretty awesome to do it at our home race,” he said.

“The second last lap was the tightest. Lewis got close but nice to hold him off. It was nice to see the chequered flag. I believe it was all legal.”

11:24pm

Bottas wins Austrian Grand Prix, Dan’s ‘insane’ radio celebration

Winner winner chicken dinner.

Valtteri Bottas has completed a stellar Grand Prix with a win, holding off Sebastian Vettel in the final lap as the German frantically tried to cause an upset.

Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo took third place, continuing his podium streak by successfully holding off a rampaging Lewis Hamilton hot on his tail.

The Aussie was elated with the podium finish, grunting in pleasure from the seat of his car as he completed the cool-down lap.

And so Ricciardo finally went insane. #F1 #AustrianGP

— Phill Tromans (@PhillTromans) July 9, 2017

Hahahahah. How good was that audio from ricciardo... 😂 #f1 #austrianGO

— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottliebFOX) July 9, 2017

Bottas responded to a suspected jump start which stirred up controversy early on in the race.

“I got the start of my life,” he said on the podium. “I was really on it.

“It’s still a long year ahead, we’re not even halfway. It’s early days and we’re still developing as a team.”

11:18pm

Ricciardo looking firm for another podium

Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo has had a relatively smooth race in Austria and looks to snag another podium provided the last four laps are clean. A rampaging Lewis Hamilton sits hot on his tail in fourth, but the real battle is between Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas for first place. The Ferrari has closed the gap to just over a second in the final laps.

It’s anyone’s podium from here.

11pm

Vettel on a warpath

Sebastian Vettel sits in second place, but he sure doesn’t want to be for long. The German has made a huge boost in the final quarter of the race, closing the gap between himself and race leader Valtteri Bottas to under four seconds.

Daniel Ricciardo sits six seconds behind Vettel and Lewis Hamilton sits five seconds behind the Aussie in fourth.

10:45pm

‘I can’t believe it. F*** this’

Kevin Magnussen has exploded over the team radio the exact moment it was being broadcast to thousands of viewers.

The young driver was experiencing a power steering failure as a result of poor hydraulics, ultimately forcing him out of the race.

“Man, I just cannot believe this! F*** this,” he yelled over his radio.

Swear filter failure. #F1 #AustriaGP #Magnussen

— Phill Tromans (@PhillTromans) July 9, 2017

When we heard Kevin Magnussen drop the F-Bomb #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/NwXFI8KmmP

— NOW TV Sport (@NOWTVSport) July 9, 2017

10:30pm

Hamilton quietly creeping up

Despite saying he’d be taking a back seat and “having some fun” this race, Lewis Hamilton is making a serious move, capitalising on the early chaos and rocketing ahead into fifth and under a second behind Kimi Raikkonen in fourth.

Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo has comfortably kept third place but looks to be far off making a move on Sebastian Vettel in second. Vettel sits eight seconds behind race leader Valtteri Bottas, who has just been cleared by race stewards after an inquiry was made on a potential jump start.

10:15pm

Max’s horror run continues

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has identified the issue which sent Max Verstappen barrelling out of the Austrian Grand Prix in the first lap.

“Max got an anti-stall and a clutch issue at the start and then he got collected at Turn One,” he told Sky F1 over the Red Bull radio.

“He’s having all the bad luck at the moment. I keep saying it will turn and it will. There’s a race next weekend.”

Veteran Fernando Alonso also had to retire as a result of the incident after Daniil Kvyat collided with his McLaren and started a brutal chain reaction.

Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel is still pressing for a Bottas penalty after claiming the Mercedes jumped the gun. “Any news on the jump start?” he said in the 11th lap.

10pm

Turn One chaos grips Austria

Nowhere to hide.

What a start.

Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo pulled off a genius move, diving down the inside of Ferarri’s Kimi Raikkonen and taking third place. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen endured another horror start, spinning out on the first corner and forcing another early retirement, his fifth out of the past seven races.

Valtteri Bottas sits comfortably in the lead despite Sebastian Vettel currently holding the fastest lap of the race so far. But the Mercedes driver might be in trouble. Vettel claimed Bottas jumped the gun to start the race. “I think Bottas jumped the start, tell Charlie,” he said over the team radio.

Stewards have been made aware of the potential breach.

“Are you allowed the perfect start? They don’t allow you to anticipate the start,” Martin Brundle said. “I think it was the perfect start.”

Jumpstart not just going early. FIA calculate gap between lights put and movement. It's jumpstart If that's faster than human reaction. #F1

— Jeff Pappone (@jpappone) July 9, 2017

9:34pm

The one thing Hamilton has to do

Lewis Hamilton has already admitted he won’t be aiming to win in Austria, but a potential downpour has put a spanner in the works with 20 minutes to go before the race begins.

1996 champion Damon Hill says the Mercedes gun will need to keep it simple and capitalise on chaos if it unfolds.

“The best thing Lewis can do, other than make a great start, is stay out of trouble,” he said.

“There are a lot of guys around him. He has to avoid accidents and make the best use of his strategy. But l really think the weather is going to play a role today.”

8:30pm

‘Unbelievable’ Verstappen reassured after frustrations

Max Verstappen’s recent frustrations are part of his F1 learning curve and the Dutchman needs to keep faith that his luck will turn, according to his Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

A series of mechanical retirements in the season’s opening eight races have left Verstappen marooned on 45 points, less than half of teammate Daniel Ricciardo’s total and over 100 adrift of the world championship summit.

Successive retirements while running in the top four in Montreal and Baku have heightened Verstappen’s frustration, with the 19-year-old not fulfilling his usual media engagements after the last race.

In a special Sky F1 feature with Red Bull and their drivers ahead of the team’s home Austrian GP, which airs in Sunday’s race show from 11.30am, Horner says Verstappen has been blameless amid his recent bad luck and is “driving at an unbelievable level”.

“We sit down and talk about these things and he’s driving at such a high level at the moment,” Red Bull’s team boss told Natalie Pinkham.

“He’s doing everything right, there’s nothing that he’s done wrong, so he’s just got to keep doing what he’s doing. He can see the potential in the car is there.

“He was running P2 in Montreal when the battery failed. He was probably in position to win the grand prix in Baku when the engine failed. It’s nothing he’s doing wrong so he can take real solace from that.”

Despite outqualifying Ricciardo at the previous four races before Austria, the Australian finished on the podium at all those four events while Verstappen retired through car failures three times.

The Dutchman’s only podium of the season came back at April’s Chinese GP. He starts fifth in Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring after errors in Q3.

“It’s all part of his trajectory and learning curve,” insisted Horner. “He’s 19 years of age, he’s had a few rough races. That will turn.

“His talent is growing and it’s exciting how much talent this young guy has got and he’ll suddenly put a run of three races together where everything will go his way. Sometimes in sport that’s the way things happen.”

Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ earlier this week, Verstappen described his season as “a bit messy” — and made clear he gets frustrated because he wants to succeed.

“Of course I can be disappointed,” said Verstappen. “It’s a bit of a human reaction I think because it’s a bit weird to say ‘oh well, that’s it, that’s racing’.

“I also want to win races and finish on the podium — and I want to finish races. When all of that is not happening of course you’re not happy. But also the team understand that and they’re also not happy with what’s happening at the moment.”

— James Galloway, Sky Sports

8pm

Lewis’ Austria confession

Hamilton isn’t thinking of winning in Austria.

Lewis Hamilton admits winning the Austrian GP is not on his mind after his grid penalty left him eighth on the grid for Sunday’s race.

The Mercedes driver had known since Tuesday that he would face a five-place demotion from where he qualified this weekend after the team discovered a problem with his gearbox after the dramatic Azerbaijan GP a fortnight ago.

Although he looked on course to minimise the damage with strong form in practice and then the fastest time in Q1, he slipped behind teammate Valtteri Bottas and championship rival Sebastian Vettel in the final phase and finished third.

That now becomes eighth on the grid for Sunday’s race.

And, although the Mercedes appears the fastest car around the Red Bull Ring, Hamilton said his focus is on “damage limitation”.

Hamilton: "I just want to have fun today."
Translation: I don't expect to be on the podium.#AustrianGP #F1

— Natasha Henry 🎶💻📚 (@NatashaSHenry) July 9, 2017

Asked if he could win from eighth, he replied: “Valtteri has been quickest all weekend, so it’s not really on my mind at the moment.”

Hamilton has never won from lower than sixth in F1 and only once from outside the front two rows.

He does though have history of working his way through the field in Austria, having gone from ninth to second in 2014.

But with Mercedes no longer having the advantage over the rest of the field that they had then, the three-time world champion is expecting a tougher task this year.

“I’m pretty sure back then there was a bigger speed delta between us and other cars, so I think it’s more unlikely than it was then.

“But I’ll give it everything I can, of course, I’ll be happy if I can get up there.”

— James Galloway, Jonathan Green, Sky Sports