LEWIS HITS ROCKBOTTAS

Hamilton’s title defence gets off to a rough start after grid penalty and later punishment demote him to fourth as Valtteri & Norris shine

major blow less than an hour before the lights went out.

The penalty for not slowing under yellow flags during Saturday’s qualifying session was reinstated by stewards after a protest by Red Bull.

But once the race got underway, Hamilton quickly went about stamping his authority. Mclaren’s Norris was powerless to prevent him breezing past within six laps of the start.

Then Albon in his Red Bull could do nothing about a rapid Hamilton, who made the move stick with ease. And 25pts 18 16 12 10 8 6 4 2 1

Red Bull’s misery was compounded when Verstappen, in second place, broke down and limped out.

The Dutchman, widely seen as Hamilton’s chief title rival this season, made no secret of his frustration with a string of X-rated radio messages.

For the remaining 57 laps around the Red Bull Ring it looked set for a straight shoot-out between the two Mercedes cars.

Bottas has had to play second fiddle as Hamilton’s team-mate for three years but perhaps this campaign could be different. Having romped to a sensational pole in Spielberg, Bottas held firm despite Hamilton’s aggressive bid for a victory.

The Brit had several bites of the cherry but ultimately was forced to back off as gearbox issues struck both Mercedes.

And then after the restart, following the second of three safety car periods caused by Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo losing its front right wheel in a shower of sparks, Albon and Hamilton went toe-to-toe in a battle for second.

Albon was launched into the gravel, ending his chances of a dramatic win. The stewards held Hamilton to be responsible and slapped him with a five-second penalty.

Hamilton was unable to find the necessary breathing space between him and his rivals which would have retained his podium spot.

Indeed, it was a frenetic afternoon from start to finish and Hamilton will be left scratching his head as his quest for F1 supremacy endured a chaotic start.

No such soul-searching for Norris, who set the fastest lap with a last-gasp effort to jump ahead of Hamilton – and at 20 years and 235 days became the youngest British driver to finish on an F1 podium.