(Reuters) – Charles Leclerc overcame a late throttle scare to win the Austrian Grand Prix for Ferrari on Sunday and become Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen’s closest rival.
Red Bull’s Verstappen finished second with Mercedes’ seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton third for the third race in a row.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz retired with an engine failure, his car rolling to a halt and flames erupting from the rear, with 14 laps to go while close on Verstappen’s tail and chasing a Ferrari one-two.
Verstappen’s team mate Sergio Perez, who had been second overall, also retired with a damaged car after a first lap collision with Mercedes’ George Russell.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Christian Radnedge)
