F1 Austrian GP: Rosberg win keeps title race close

Capitalizing on a poor start by polesitter and Mercedes AMG F1 teammate Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg won the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg in a race marked by a safety car that followed a horrific looking crash between Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren's Fernando Alonso. Both drivers were unhurt but among the six retirements of the race that saw Williams-Mercedes' Felipe Massa take third position just ahead of Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari.

A slow pit stop saw the former four-time world champion fall behind the road to Massa but slowly make enough ground to be right behind the Williams in the closing laps, even contemplating a move or two to take the final podium position.

Massa's teammate Valtteri Bottas was fifth while this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Nico Hulkenberg was sixth with Force India-Mercedes. Pastor Maldonado scored his second straight points finish of the F1 season that is now eight races old.

The Venezuelan had a tense battle with Toro Rosso-Renault's Max Verstappen who also scored his second finish of the season. Force India's Sergio Perez and Red Bull-Renault's Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top then.

Rosberg's third win of the season was the 11th of his F1 career, all of which have come with the Mercedes factory team going back to the 2012 season. However, late in the race, the German was complaining of tyre vibrations that visibly cost him speed. This allowed Hamilton to catch up to him although he had been slapped with a five second time penalty for crossing the pit-lane exit line at the halfway point of the 71-lap race.

The penalty would have been added to the defending F1 champion's race finish time and most likely have resulted in him having to cede the win to Rosberg. The German hung on long enough to win on the road though and cut the gap in the drivers' championship to just ten points to Hamilton.

With a win being worth 25 points and the difference to second place being seven points, the title battle is by no means decided with 11 races still left in the season.

The next round of the F1 World Championship will be the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, which will be held from July 3 to 5 at the site of the very first F1 World Championship grand prix.