Daniel Ricciardo claimed a shock win for Red Bull in a controversial and incident-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix which saw a major flashpoint between title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, but the German still extended his title lead as a loose head restraint cost the Briton victory.
Daniel Ricciardo wins crazy Azerbaijan GP as Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel clash
In a race that was chaotic from the opening lap and featured three safety cars and several crashes,including clashes between team-mates, Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen clashed while scrapping for second, Hamilton led through two Safety Car restarts and a full race restart following ared flag period. It was just before the second Safety Car restart where the flashpoint occurred, with Vettel running into the back of Hamilton as he managed pace behind the Safety Car.
In a moment likely to become the most controversial of the 2017 F1 season, an irate Vettel then pulled up alongside Hamilton and drove into the side of his title rival, something which later earned the championship leader a 10-second stop-go penalty. The drama did not end there for Hamilton, as he was forced into an unscheduled pit-stop shortly after the final restart so Mercedes could secure his car's headrest, which had come loose during the long wait in the pit lane.
Through all the drama Ricciardo, who had been forced into an early stop and had been 17th on lap six, rose through the order to lead. His drive back to the front included a ballsy lunge on the equally-impressive 18-year-old Canadian Lance Stroll mid-way through the race. Stroll held second until the final metres of the race, when he was caught and passed by Bottas, but still held on to a remarkable first podium of his F1 career. Bottas' podium came having been last and a lap down after his early tangle with Raikkonen. Vettel finished ahead of Hamilton in fourth, with the Mercedes driver repeatedly questioning why Vettel only recieved a ten-second penalty. Esteban Ocon recovered from a disastrous collision with Force India teammate Sergio Perez to finish sixth as the team appeared to squander big points for the
second race in succession. Kevin Magnussen claimed seventh for Haas ahead of Carlos Sainz and the first points of the 2017 F1 season for McLaren's Fernando Alonso, who lamented during the race that the team could have won the crazy grand prix with a better power unit. Pascal Wehrlein rounded out the top ten ahead of Sauber teammate Marcus Ericsson.
The chaotic race was not limited to the top ten
Kimi Raikkonen spent much of the race in the wars, suffering damage in the early clash with Bottas
and then sustaining a puncture from debris at the mid-way point. Felipe Massa had been leading Williams teammate Stroll after the final restart but soon fell down the order with a car issue, eventually retiring. Nico Hulkenberg had appeared to be in a great position to attack for a first podium of his F1 career, but a brush with the wall ended his race prematurely on the streets of the capital of Azerbaijan Baku.
Well done for the good performance Ricciardo, Bottas and Stroll In the most spectacular race so far, of the 2017 F1 season.
Full Azerbaijan Grand Prix race results following Round 8 of the 2017 World Championship at the Baku City Circuit.
1. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Red Bull - TAG 51 laps
2. Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes - Mercedes +3.904s
3. Lance Stroll CAN Williams - Mercedes +4.009s
4. Sebastian Vettel GER Ferrari - Ferrari +5.976s
5. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes - Mercedes +6.188s
6. Esteban Ocon FRA Force India-Mercedes +30.298s
7. Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas-Ferrari +41.753s
8. Carlos Sainz ESP Toro Rosso-Renault +49.400s
9. Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren-Honda +59.551s
10. Pascal Wehrlein GER Sauber - Ferrari +1m 26.573s
11. Marcus Ericsson SWE Sauber - Ferrari +1m 29.550s
12. Stoffel Vandoorne BEL McLaren-Honda +1m 30.041s
13. Romain Grosjean FRA Haas-Ferrari +1 lap
Did not finish
Kimi Raikkonen FIN Ferrari - Ferrari 46 laps completed
Sergio Perez MEX Force India-Mercedes 40 laps completed
Felipe Massa BRA Williams - Mercedes 26 laps completed
Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault - Renault 25 laps completed
Max Verstappen NED Red Bull - TAG 12 laps completed
Daniil Kvyat RUS Toro Rosso-Renault 11 laps completed
Jolyon Palmer GBR Renault - Renault 10 laps completed.
Driver Standings Top 5
1. Sebastian Vettel GER. FERRARI (153)
2. Lewis Hamilton GBR. MERCEDES (139)
3. Valtteri Bottas FIN . MERCEDES (111)
4. Daniel Ricciardo AUS. FERRARI (92)
5. Kimi Räikkönen FIN. RED BULL (73)
The next race is the FORMULA 1 GROSSER PREIS VON ÖSTERREICH 2017 Spielbergin Fri 07 Jul – Sun 09 Jul 2017