SPEILBERG, Austria (AP) – Nico Rosberg showed his championship potential by overtaking pole sitter Lewis Hamilton on the first turn to win the Austrian Grand Prix in style on Sunday.
The German driver, runner-up to his Mercedes teammate in last year’s Formula One championship, took an aggressive inside line to shoot past Hamilton heading into the first turn in an eventful race featuring a heavy crash between Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso and several more retirements.
Rosberg’s third win this season took his career tally to 11, and cut Hamilton’s overall lead to 10 points.
He likes the Red Bull Ring, where he won from third on the grid last year.
It was a frustrating day for defending champion Hamilton, who received a five-second penalty for incorrectly leaving the pit lane.
Felipe Massa finished third for Williams.