Verstappen charges to Austrian GP win as Hamilton DNFs

Max Verstappen charged to a memorable Austrian Grand Prix victory at Red Bull's home race as a strategy blunder by Mercedes under the Virtual Safety Car cost championship leader Lewis Hamilton a potential victory before the Briton retired in the closing stages of the race.

After making a good start, Verstappen was able to rise up to second following Bottas' early retirement before gaining the lead close to half-distance when Mercedes opted not to pit Hamilton under the VSC, dropping him to fourth when he took a pit stop to switch tyres.

While significant wear on the left-rear tyre forced both Hamilton and Verstappen's teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, into a second stop, Verstappen was able to keep his cool at the front and nurse his tyres en route to a famous victory for Red Bull.

There was late despair for Hamilton, though, who reported a loss of power while running fourth in the closing stages, forcing him to retire from the race and allow Sebastian Vettel to move back into the lead of the F1 drivers' championship with a third-place finish for Ferrari.

Starting fourth in Austria, Verstappen was able to rise to third on the opening lap after passing Kimi Raikkonen before gaining another position when pole-sitter Bottas - who lost the lead at Turn 1 to Mercedes teammate Hamilton - was forced to retire after 14 laps due to a suspected hydraulic failure.

Bottas' stoppage sparked a VSC period that slowed the field, prompting Red Bull and Ferrari to respond immediately and stack their drivers in the pits, switching them to Soft tyres that they planned to take to the end of the race.

The VSC ended before Hamilton could pit, leaving Verstappen - who made a crucial pass on Raikkonen on the opening lap for third at the time - just 13 seconds behind in second place, with a pit stop at the Red Bull Ring costing cars 20 seconds.

A frustrated Hamilton vented his frustration over team radio, with Mercedes strategist James Vowles taking full blame for the error before telling the four-time champion to keep his head down and focus on forging a gap at the front of the pack.

However, with Hamilton and Verstappen matching each other for times and the gap staying stable, Mercedes decided to bring Hamilton in after 25 laps for a set of Softs, leaving him fourth after coming out ahead of Vettel, who was fighting back after his grid penalty and a poor start on the opening lap.

Significant wear on the Soft tyre left both Ricciardo, who was running second behind Verstappen, and Hamilton struggling for pace, giving both Ferrari drivers the chance to close. Raikkonen moved up to second when Ricciardo was brought in for a second time at the end of Lap 38, while Vettel made a superb pass up the inside of Hamilton at Turn 3 one lap later to put the Ferraris second and third on-track.

Mercedes had little choice but to bring Hamilton in for a second stop as his Soft tyres continued to wear significantly, bringing him back out in fifth behind Daniel Ricciardo. It soon became fourth, though, when Ricciardo reported a gear sync issue, forcing him to park up at the side of the track with 17 laps to go.

Hamilton's hopes of damage limitation in the title fight took a blow when he reported a loss of power on his Mercedes car on Lap 63, with the team giving him the call to park up at the side of the track and retire from the race, marking his first DNF since the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix and the team's first double retirement since Spain 2016. Mercedes later confirmed that Hamilton's car had experienced a loss in fuel pressure.

Amid all of the late drama, Verstappen was able to keep his cool at the front and cross the line after 71 laps to record his first victory of the season, delivering Red Bull its first ever home win in F1. It also marked his fourth victory in F1, lifting him to fifth in the drivers' championship ahead of Bottas in the process.

Raikkonen crossed the line 1.5 seconds back from Verstappen in P2, with teammate Vettel following in third to reclaim the lead of the drivers' championship in the process, moving one point clear of Hamilton at the top of the drivers' standings. The strong double score for Ferrari also saw it leapfrog Mercedes in the constructors' standings, giving the Italian marque the lead of both championships for the first time since Monaco last year.

Romain Grosjean managed to snap his scoreless streak in style with a trouble-free run to fourth for Haas, scoring his first points since last year's Japanese Grand Prix. The Frenchman was followed home by teammate Kevin Magnussen as the American team recorded its best result in F1 since debuting in 2016, gaining two places in the teams' standings in the process.

Esteban Ocon finished sixth for Force India ahead of teammate Sergio Perez, with the pair being told to swap positions back and forth in the closing laps. Perez was reluctant to left him teammate back through, but made the switch to take seventh.

Fernando Alonso went from the pit lane to P8 with a fine drive for McLaren, dodging the drama ahead before fighting his way past Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly in the closing stages. The Spaniard was the team's sole points scorer as Stoffel Vandoorne was forced to retire in the closing stages due to an issue, having been running two laps down.

Sauber charged to its first double-points finish of the season as Leclerc and teammate Marcus Ericsson rounded out the points in ninth and 10th respectively with varying strategies. Leclerc pitted under the VSC, but kept his tyres fresh to pass Gasly in the final stages, with teammate Ericsson - who ran long on Softs before switching to Supersofts with 25 laps to go - taking the final point in P10.

Gasly was left to settle for 11th at the chequered flag as he struggled for grip, while Toro Rosso teammate Brendon Hartley retired with 16 laps remaining, ending his hopes of points after a long first stint.

Carlos Sainz Jr. was another driver to fall foul of significant blisters on his rear-left tyre, forcing Renault into a second stop that meant he finished one lap down in 12th. The team left Austria empty-handed as Nico Hulkenberg retired early due to an engine failure while running ninth.

Williams was the last classified team as Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin took 13th and 14th respectively, both finishing two laps down on Verstappen at the front of the pack.

The F1 season continues with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone next Sunday.