2014 Austrian Grand Prix

Lore & Background

Felipe Massa started the race from pole position, his first since the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix and the last of his career. Massa had one previous participation in an Austrian Grand Prix, back in 2002, while from the last Austrian Grand Prix to be held before 2014, which was in 2003, only three drivers (Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, and Jenson Button) returned to drive in the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix.

Reader's Guide

The Grand Prix was contested by eleven teams, each of two drivers. The teams were Red Bull Racing, Mercedes, Ferrari, Lotus, McLaren, Force India, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Williams, Marussia and Caterham. Tyre supplier Pirelli brought four different tyre compounds for the race; two dry compounds, the soft 'primes' and the supersoft 'options', and two wet-weather compounds, the intermediate and full wet. The drag reduction system (DRS) had two activation zones for the race; one was on the start/finish straight from the final to first corners, and the second on the straight between turns 2 and 3.

Going into the race, Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg led the Drivers' Championship with 140 points, ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton on 118 points and Daniel Ricciardo on 79. In the Constructors' Championship Mercedes were leading with 258 points and Red Bull were second on 139 points. Williams driver Felipe Massa became the first driver other than Hamilton and Rosberg to claim pole position in 2014 with a Q3 lap time of 1:08.759. He was joined on the front row by teammate Valtteri Bottas; it was the team's first front row lockout since Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher did so, at the 2003 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.

At the start, Massa led the field into the first corner. The Mercedes cars were able to pass the Williams cars by stopping earlier and undercutting them during the pitstop phases. Rosberg passed both Williams during the first stops, and Hamilton took second position during the second round, despite suffering two slow pit stops. For much of the race both Mercedes cars had to manage overheating brake issues. Rosberg took the chequered flag for his third win of the season.

Did You Know?

• Nico Rosberg extended his championship lead to 29 points after the race, the largest it had been all season.
• Valtteri Bottas scored his first career Formula One podium with a P3 finish.
• The race was remarkable for Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, who as a shareholder of both Mercedes and his former team Williams effectively held some ownership of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th placed cars.