Bottas was the fastest qualifier and led the race from start to finish to earn Mercedes the win. The race only saw 11 of the 20 cars finishing, and the first casualty was the defending champion in Austria, Max Verstappen.

Bottas’s teammate and reigning world champion, Lewis Hamilton, crossed the finish line in second, however, a 5-second penalty saw him having to settle for fourth.

Bottas says the win wasn’t as simple as it appeared.

“Winning a Formula One Grand Prix is never easy, but today didn't definitively come easy at all.

“In the first stint, Lewis lost a bit of time getting through the Red Bulls, so there was quite a bit of margin.

“So, the first stint was not that bad because I had a decent gap, I could control and make sure we'd make it to the target stop lap. I tried to do the right thing with the tyres and maintaining the car.

“In the second stint there was never, like, massive pressure, because I was up in front and we wanted to make really sure we made it to the end, but there were all these variables in the race.

“We had issues with some sensors that were damaged by the vibration over the kerbs.”

This week the circuit stays in Spielburg, for the Styrian Grand Prix.

F1 Austrian Grand Prix - Results

1 - Valtteri Bottas - Mercedes

2 - Charles Leclerc - Ferrari

3 - Lando Norris - McLaren

4 - Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes

5 - Carlos Sainz Jr. - McLaren

6 -  Sergio Pérez - Racing Point

7 - Pierre Gasly - AlphaTauri

8 - Esteban Ocon -Renault

9 - Antonio Giovinazzi - Alfa Romeo

10 - Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari

11 -  Nicholas Latifi, Williams

RET - Daniil Kvyat - AlphaTauri - Suspension

RET - Alexander Albon - Red Bull Electrics

RET - Kimi Räikkönen - Alfa Romeo - Wheel

RET -  George Russell - Williams - Gearbox

RET -  Romain Grosjean - Haas - Brakes

RET - Kevin Magnussen - Haas - Brakes

RET -  Lance Stroll - Racing Point - Engine

RET - Daniel Ricciardo - Renault - Gearbox

RET - Max Verstappen - Red Bull - Electrics

@MorganPiek OFM Sport