Google+ Jack Leslie F1: 2015 Austrian Grand Prix Weekend Report

19 June 2015

2015 Austrian Grand Prix Weekend Report

The eighth round of the 2015 Formula 1 season took place at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.
© Octane Photographic
It was the 28th running of the event and the ninth to take place on the 2.688 mile layout, which debuted in 1997. 

F1 returned to Austria after an 11-year absence in 2014, with Nico Rosberg taking victory. The track may feature new and modern facilities, but it has an old-school feel and is set in a beautiful location.

FP1
Despite rain overnight, track conditions were dry for the start of practice one. Daniil Kvyat was the first to take to the circuit at Red Bull's home race, while Felipe Nasr put in the opening timed lap - a 1:18.021.
© Octane Photographic

Fernando Alonso quickly suffered an issue and pulled into the pits at the end of his installation lap, coasting back to his garage with his engine switched off. Sebastian Vettel lost drive in the opening 30 minutes of the session and pulled off track between the first and second corners.

Times rapidly decreased, with Rosberg leading Lewis Hamilton by over one second with one hour to go. Hamilton cut the gap to three tenths later in the session. Alonso re-appeared on track to complete a few crucial laps in the final 15 minutes.

Rosberg's 1:10.401 remained quickest at the chequered flag, with Hamilton in second and Kimi Raikkonen third. Valtteri Bottas, Nasr, Daniil Kvyat, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were next up. Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez rounded out the top 10. Jolyon Palmer replaced Romain Grosjean and was 14th, ahead of Marcus Ericsson, Jenson Button and Alonso.

FP2
Dark clouds loomed overhead as second practice got underway, but the rain failed to appear. Ericsson, Vettel and Roberto Merhi were the first to head out onto the circuit. 
© Octane Photographic

Vettel put in the first timed lap with a 1:13.584, before he was displaced by Hamilton and Raikkonen. The Finnish driver switched to the super soft tyre with one hour to go and went quickest.

Hamilton went off on two of his option tyre laps and failed to improve, while Vettel returned to the top spot. Rosberg jumped to second place, just 0.011 seconds off the pace, while Sainz Jr narrowly avoided hitting the Turn 5 wall after taking to the gravel trap. 

Drivers switched focus to longer runs in the final part of the session, but Vettel, Alonso and Button all had to pit with problems. However, the Ferrari driver remained quickest with a 1:09.600. Rosberg, Raikkonen, Maldonado and Hamilton completed the top five. Nico Hulkenberg, Grosjean, Verstappen, Nasr and Perez rounded out the top 10 in the session. 

FP3
A few spots of rain were in the air as third practice got underway at the Red Bull Ring. It was a busy start to the session, with Merhi, Grosjean and Raikkonen first to emerge from the pits and take to the circuit.
© Octane Photographic

Drivers started running on the soft tyres, with Vettel setting the pace with a 1:09.944 in the first part of the third practice. Hamilton and Raikkonen were next up, before the red flag appeared for Alonso's stopped car on the pit straight.

There was a queue of cars at the pit lane exit waiting for the session to resume, but during that time it started to rain and the drivers had to limp around in wet conditions on dry tyres - very treacherous conditions, as Raikkonen found out when he went off at Turn 5.

Most of the field returned to the track to try out the conditions. The times remained the same, with Vettel setting the pace in third practice, from Hamilton, Raikkonen, Perez and Rosberg. Massa and Bottas were next up, ahead of Verstappen, Maldonado and Grosjean. 

Qualifying
Q1
Five drivers were eliminated from the first segment of qualifying. The session started in damp conditions after earlier rain, with Verstappen and Ericsson first out on track.
© Octane Photographic

Intermediate tyres were used early on, but a dry line quickly appeared. Ericsson set the opening timed lap with a 1:25.883. His Sauber team-mate was the first to sample slick tyres, while Rosberg led the way with 10 minutes remaining.

The entire field quickly followed Nasr's lead and switched to the dry Pirelli rubber. Times changed constantly in the final minutes as conditions improved and confidence increased. By the chequered flag, it was Rosberg who set the pace with a 1:10.976.

Sainz Jr, Vettel, Verstappen and Hulkenberg completed the top five. Maldonado, Grosjean, Massa, Bottas and Ricciardo were next up. Hamilton and Alonso just made it through to the second session in 13th and 15th, while Perez, Button, Raikkonen, Merhi and Will Stevens - who almost beached his car in the gravel at Turn 7 - were eliminated.

Q2
Five drivers were also eliminated in Q2, with the top 10 progressing through to the battle for Austrian Grand Prix pole position. Sainz Jr and Ricciardo were the first to take to the track.
© Octane Photographic

Sainz Jr also set the opening timed lap with a 1:16.366. He was quickly displaced by Hulkenberg and his team-mate Verstappen in the opening minutes of the session. Rosberg then moved to the front, with Hamilton improving to third.

Q2 concluded in frantic style, with all 15 drivers circulating at the Red Bull Ring in a bid to improve their fastest times. By the end of the session, it was Rosberg who set the pace with a 1:08.634, well clear of Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas and Hulkenberg.

Verstappen, Nasr and Massa made it through to Q3, with Grosjean and Kvyat joining them after late improvements. Maldonado, Ericsson, Sainz Jr, Ricciardo and Alonso were all eliminated from the second segment of qualifying.

Q3
The final segment of qualifying decided the top 10 grid positions for the Austrian Grand Prix. The 12-minute session got off to a quiet start, with Bottas and Nasr the first to exit the pit lane.
© Octane Photographic

Rosberg led the way after the first laps, but Hamilton bounced back on his next tour to go quickest. He put in a 1:08.455 to take provisional pole, before the field pitted for fresh tyres.

A brake-by-wire issue meant Grosjean failed to set a time in Q3. On the final laps of qualifying, Hamilton locked his rear tyres at the first Turn and spun. Rosberg was on a quick time but he went over the damp Turn 8 kerb, lost control and went off at the final corner.

It was a dramatic and unusual end to qualifying, with Hamilton taking pole position at the Red Bull Ring. Rosberg was second, with Vettel and Massa third and fourth. Hulkenberg split the two Williams drivers, with Bottas sixth and Verstappen seventh. Kvyat, Nasr and Grosjean completed the top 10. 

Full qualifying results can be found here.  

The Race
Hamilton bounced back to take pole position on Saturday, after Rosberg looked to have the advantage over one lap. It was a mixed up grid for round eight of the season, with some fast cars at the back of the field.
© Octane Photographic

The revs rose, the lights went out and the Austrian Grand Prix got underway at the Red Bull Ring. Off the line, Rosberg had a strong start to storm into the lead at Turn 1. Hamilton tried to fight back but could not find a way through, while behind Verstappen moved ahead of Bottas.

Raikkonen and Alonso crashed on the run to Turn 3. It was a nasty incident, with the McLaren coming to rest on top of the Ferrari. The Safety Car was deployed and stayed out for quite some time while the debris and damaged cars were cleared.

The race resumed on lap seven, with Rosberg pulling out a small gap over Hamilton. Button slowed with a problem and retired a few laps later, cutting short McLaren's day. Bottas moved back ahead of Verstappen, while Hamilton slowly started to close in on Rosberg.

Hulkenberg was the next driver to fall behind Bottas after a good move around the outside at Turn 3. However, the Williams driver exited his pit stop behind Hulkenberg. Rosberg pitted for the first time at the end of lap 33, with Hamilton staying out for two further laps before switching to the soft tyre.

He crossed the white line at the pit exit and was handed a five-second time penalty. Meanwhile Vettel dropped behind Massa after a delay at his pit stop. There were some strong battles in the second half of the race, with Ricciardo moving ahead of Nasr for 10th and Maldonado fighting Verstappen for seventh.
© Octane Photographic

Vettel closed in on Massa but he couldn't get close enough to attempt an overtake. At the front of the field, Rosberg reported a tyre vibration in the final laps, which caused some concern for the German driver. However, he managed to hold on to take the win.

Rosberg crossed the line 3.8 seconds clear of Hamilton to take his second consecutive Austrian Grand Prix victory. Massa just held off Vettel for the final podium position, with Bottas a distant fifth and Hulkenberg in sixth. 

Maldonado, Verstappen, Perez and Ricciardo completed the top 10. Nasr, Kvyat, Ericsson and Merhi rounded out the finishers. There were six retirements in total, with Sainz Jr and Grosjean exiting the race with reliability problems.

Full race results can be found here.

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