Red Bull wins but Ricciardo forced into an early exit
BIRTHDAY boy Daniel Ricciardo had to pull out of the Austria Grand Prix due to engine issues, but his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen took advantage of a disastrous double no- finish for Mercedes to win the event.
The No. 3- ranked Australian, who turned 29 on Sunday, had to withdraw from the race after completing just 53 laps due to engine troubles.
Lewis Hamilton lost the lead when Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas broke down to cause a virtual safety car and his own race ended with a late engine failure.
Sebastien Vettel had started his Ferrari sixth, having been penalised three grid places for impeding a rival in qualifying, but fought back to end third.
With Hamilton failing to score, Vettel regained the championship lead 146- 145.
Ricciardo’s teammate Verstappen, who started fourth, held off a late charge from Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari to celebrate his fourth career victory and first of the season.
When Bottas suffered a failure of hydraulic pressure and lost gearbox function, he trundled to a halt on lap 14.
But while Red Bull and Ferrari quickly brought in both drivers for fresh tyres, the Mercedes garage did not make the same call for Hamilton. Vettel took advantage of the bad luck of others to make the podium.