Bottas wins F1 opener in Austria

Valtteri Bottas won a dramatic season-opening Austrian Grand Prix in which only 11 Formula One drivers made it to the checkered flag after three safety car interventions.

Bottas led from lights to flag, but his impression of a serene grand prix victory belied the difficulty Mercedes had keeping both of its cars in working order and the chaos that unfolded behind Bottas and teammate Lewis Hamilton, as the midfield attempted to capitalize on their machines. But the Finn perfectly judged all three restarts and faultlessly absorbed his teammate’s pressure to start his fourth Mercedes season with 25 points.

“One safety car was OK, but the last safety car, I was like, ‘Come on,

again?’,” Bottas said.

While Bottas was always in the box seat to claim victory, the battle to decide his podium companions ran to the final lap, with Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz Jr. rounding out the top five. – Michael Lamonato, Racer Magazine

IndyCar: Dixon’s perfect start

INDIANAPOLIS – After finishing runner-up each of the last three years on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Scott Dixon now has one fewer winless track in his 20-year IndyCar career.

The 39-year-old Chip Ganassi Racing veteran proved trend-setter, goodluck recipient and, finally, dominant driver in the 80-lap GMR Grand Prix on Saturday, winning by nearly 20 seconds over Graham Rahal. Simon Pagenaud rounded out the podium in third.

The win was the 48th of Dixon’s career, following his dominant run in June’s season opener at Texas Motor Speedway.