Rosberg takes vital Austrian Grand Prix win

Nico Rosberg claimed a precious Austrian Grand Prix, ahead of his Mercedes team-mate - and championship rival - Lewis Hamilton and third-placed Valtteri Bottas, who earned his first ever podium finish.

The margin of victory was little under a second for the German, who now moves 29 points ahead of Hamilton in the drivers' championship. Surprise pole-sitter Felipe Massa finished fourth, with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso taking fifth.

Sergio Perez leapt a titanic ten places up the grid after his five-place grid penalty, eventually coming home sixth for some more vital Force India points, as Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenburg and Kimi Raikkonen completed the top ten.

It was the first Austrian Grand Prix in 11 years, and after a frenetic qualifying session on Saturday, hopes were high for a similarly eventful race at the Red Bull Ring on the Sunday.

The first chinks in the Mercedes armour had surfaced following Williams' surprise one-two in qualification, and pole-sitter Massa flew off from the start, as Rosberg passed Bottas for second.

Hamilton - who started 9th - managed to haul himself up to 4th by the end of the first lap, right behind team-mate Rosberg, who was re-overtaken by Bottas.

Sebastian Vettel's disappointing weekend and season continued, as he was forced to the back of the grid after just two laps, complaining of drive issues. Miraculously, a lap later the problem was solved and the German was able to continue, albeit from 22nd place.

The gulf between the front four of Massa, Bottas, Rosberg and Hamilton - all Mercedes powered cars - was plain to see, as Alonso sat over eight seconds off the pace by lap ten.

Ricciardo slipped down the order after a poor start, as the Red Bulls were humbled by the reality of being outpaced by junior team Toro Rosso in the early stages.

On lap 16, Massa was overtaken by Rosberg as the pair came out of the pits, and the Brazilian was duped again after a tasty piece of late braking from Hamilton, moving the Williams man down to fifth.

But Bottas remained - separating the two Mercedes drivers - with Perez sat in provisional pole by lap 22. The Mexican was battling a grid penalty which saw him start in 15th, but was seemingly unperturbed by it.

Daniel Kvyat retired for the third consecutive race due to a loss of braking on lap 27, as Rosberg and Bottas both completed passes on Perez to move 1st and 2nd respectively, as the Mexican crucially kept Hamilton at bay a little longer, delaying the Brit's charge.

It wasn't to last long though, as a lap later Hamilton got his man and moved up into 3rd. By this stage, Perez was struggling on old tyres without a stop.

Race leader Rosberg began to struggle in the early 30-laps, particularly under braking, as Vettel encountered more problems, losing his front wing at the back of the grid on lap 33.

The German's miserable race was humanely cut short on lap 36, as he finally was ordered to retire by his Red Bull team.

On lap 39, Hamilton was told, 'It's hammer time!' over team radio, signalling the Mercedes man was ready to make a charge on 2nd-placed Bottas in the second half of the race.

Less than three laps later he had overtaken Bottas, and was primed ready to challenge Rosberg for the lead.

A duel in midfield between Raikkonen and Button saw the Brit mounting a challenge for 8th, as McLaren again toiled in the lower points positions.

By lap 50, both Mercedes drivers were complaining over issues with the car, with concerns over rear brakes overheating. According to team radio, Hamilton's tyres were performing better than Rosberg's, with 18 laps remaining.

Winner last time out, Ricciardo had a rare poor race here, but was able to move up to 9th after Button's third pit stop of the race. The Brit was bumped out of the points with 11 laps to go, as Raikkonen stole into 10th.

Perez set a new fastest time of the race on lap 61, as Jean-Eric Vergne retired with the same brakes issue as his Toro Rosso team-mate Kvyat. Between them, the drivers have retired eight times in 2014.

Rosberg's lead over Hamilton stood at almost two seconds going into the last eight laps, as battles began to simmer up and down the grid.

Perez moved ahead of Magnussen for sixth and Hamilton closed the gap on Rosberg by eight-tenths with four laps to go.

But it wasn't to be enough to overhaul Rosberg, who claimed a priceless victory here, to extend his championship lead going into the British Grand Prix on July 6th.