By Claas Hennig, dpa
Spielberg, Austria (dpa) – Lewis Hamilton overtook Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg on the last lap to win a thrilling Formula One Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Hamilton attacked Rosberg on the last lap and the pair came together with sparks flying as the German attempted to defend his lead.
The collision appeared self-inflicted and caused damage to Rosberg’s wing. He ended up being overtaken by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, earning his second F1 podium place, and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen as Hamilton took the chequered flag.
«I was on the outside. It wasn’t me who crashed,» Hamilton said over team radio.
Stewards said they were investigating Rosberg for the crash and for continuing with a damaged car.
But Rosberg put the blame on Hamilton in television interviews.
«I was inside. It was my curve. I went a bit wide because of the
(overheating) brakes. I was surprised he steered into me.»
Hamilton, who was booed during the podium presentations, said: «Nico made a mistake into Turn One so I had an opportunity in Turn Two. I left a lot of room on the inside and he locked up and went into me.
He had a problem with his brakes potentially.»
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel on his 29th birthday earlier went out on lap 27, hitting a barrier on the inside of the pit wall after a rear tyre burst.
Vettel was at that stage the only leading driver not to have pitted, putting question marks over Ferrari’s strategy.
Hamilton got clean away from pole, with McLaren’s Jenson Button getting past Force India’s Nico Huelkenberg for second place.
Rosberg, who started from sixth position, moved up to third before a tyre change on lap 11
Hamilton was kept out after the team appear to speculate on rain after some initial drops. But when the world champion final came in for new tyres on lap 22 it was a slow stop and he came out behind Rosberg.
After a safety car phase caused by Vettel’s spin, Rosberg was able to hold his own just over a second in front ahead of Hamilton, who at that stage was ruing his team’s strategy,
«Close that gap as much as you can. It’s hammer time,» he was told over team radio with 17 laps remaining, shortly before he pitted again for soft tyres in what was another tardy exchange.
Rosberg changed a lap later for the less durable but faster super soft compound and emerged comfortably ahead of his team-mate with Verstappen now in front.
Hamilton queried the tyre selection and was told over the team’s
radio: «We feel this is the right tyre to get to the end of the race.»
Rosberg got past Verstappen with 10 laps left, while Hamilton needed two laps to overtake the Dutch teenager.
It looked as if Rosberg would be able to hold out but Hamilton took his chance and got the better of the collision with his team-mate, who limped home with his lead in the drivers’ standings cut to 11 points.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was fifth, with Button sixth, Romain Grosjean in a Haas seventh, followed by Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz and Valtteri Bottas in a Williams ninth and Pascal Wehrlein 10th to earn a first point of the season for the Manor team.
But the talking point will remain the last-lap collision, the latest between the two team-mates, who crashed out at this season’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Hamilton was booed by some of the crowd at the podium celebrations, but he clearly had nothing to feel guilty about, and at one point gave the thumbs up sign and said: «I am here to win.»
