Mercedes-AMG stormed to a one-two finish in the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday. Nico Rosberg started in third and won the race—his third GP victory of the season.

Lewis Hamilton started in ninth place (after a spin in qualifying) and earned a P2 finish—an impressive feat for any driver, but not enough to take the lead in the Drivers’ Championship. Their point differential was 22 points before the race; it is now 29—Rosberg with 165 points, leading the scoreboard, and Hamilton in second with 136.

However, Mercedes-AMG’s win was not as effortless as those in previous races. The team’s drivers were shut out of the front row when Williams’ drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas posted the best lap times during qualifying. Bottas finished third—his first time on the podium. Massa was fourth, ahead of former teammate Fernando Alonso of Ferrari in fifth.

Hamilton had a sensational first lap, overtaking three drivers by Turn 2. On his second lap, Hamilton was behind teammate Rosberg. Both drivers took earlier first pit stops than Massa and Bottas. After their second and final pit stops, Rosberg and Hamilton were in the lead. Hamilton needed a win to help reclaim his lead in the Drivers’ standings, but both Mercedes drivers were managing brake issues throughout the race, making a potential Hamilton overtake infeasible.

The Austrian GP results mean that this is the sixth one-two finish in eight races for Mercedes-AMG. This has only happened once before in F1 history. The team currently leads with 301 points in the Constructors Championship, with Red Bull Racing second with 143 points, and Ferrari in third with 98 points.

The next race will be Silverstone, held in the United Kingdom. As this is Hamilton’s home turf, he is expected to aggressively fight teammate Rosberg for a win. The Mercedes-AMG F1 soap opera carries on uninterrupted.

By Nico Grant

Driver Standings

  1 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:27:54.976

  2 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +1.9 secs

  3 Valtteri Bottas (Williams) +8.1 secs

  4 Felipe Massa (Williams) +17.3 secs

  5 Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) +18.5 secs

  6 Sergio Perez (Force India) +28.5 secs

  7 Kevin Magnussen (McLaren) +32.0 secs

  8 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) +43.5 secs

  9 Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) +44.1 secs

  10 Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) +47.7 secs