LEWIS HAMILTON WINS DRAMATIC AZERBAIJAN GP
Lewis Hamilton has taken advantage of a late race safety car while others faltered to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, his first win for the 2018 Formula 1 season.
Sebastian Vettel looked set to take the top set of the podium on Lap 40, having led the majority of the race in Baku. However, drama arose when the two Red Bull’s collided at Turn 1. The contact had been brewing for some time with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen squabbling over fourth place for 30 laps, the Australian losing his advantage in the pitstop cycle.
Another quick round of pit stops during the Safety Car period saw Valtteri Bottas jump into the lead of the race, having not stopped earlier.
Vettel, in second place at the restart, threw away his chance trying to regain the lead with failed dive bomb down the inside of the Mercedes driver, dropping down the order, promoting Hamilton to second.
A right rear puncture after running over debris with just three laps left to run dropped Bottas out of contention, handing the win to Hamilton.
Kimi Raikkonen recovered from Lap 1 contact with Esteban Ocon to finish second. While the second Force India of Sergio Perez took out the final spot on the podium. Vettel finished the day fourth.
Formula 1 – Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Result
Position | Driver | Car | Laps | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 51 | |
2 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 51 | 2.460s |
3 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 51 | 4.024s |
4 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 51 | 5.329s |
5 | Carlos Sainz | Renault | 51 | 7.515s |
6 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber/Ferrari | 51 | 9.158s |
7 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Renault | 51 | 10.931s |
8 | Lance Stroll | Williams/Mercedes | 51 | 12.546s |
9 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren/Renault | 51 | 14.152s |
10 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso/Honda | 51 | 18.030s |
11 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 51 | 18.512s |
12 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso/Honda | 51 | 24.720s |
13 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 51 | 30.663s |
14 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 48 | Tyre |
DNF | Romain Grosjean | Haas/Ferrari | 42 | Spun off |
DNF | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 39 | Collision |
DNF | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Renault | 39 | Collision |
DNF | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 10 | Spun off |
DNF | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams/Mercedes | 0 | Collision |
DNF | Esteban Ocon | Force India/Mercedes | 0 | Collision |
F1 Driver Standings
Position | Driver | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Lewis Hamilton | 70 |
2 | Sebastian Vettel | 66 |
3 | Kimi Raikkonen | 48 |
4 | Valtteri Bottas | 40 |
5 | Daniel Ricciardo | 37 |
6 | Fernando Alonso | 28 |
7 | Nico Hulkenberg | 22 |
8 | Max Verstappen | 18 |
9 | Sergio Perez | 15 |
10 | Carlos Sainz | 13 |
11 | Pierre Gasly | 12 |
12 | Kevin Magnussen | 11 |
13 | Charles Leclerc | 8 |
14 | Stoffel Vandoorne | 8 |
15 | Lance Stroll | 4 |
16 | Marcus Ericsson | 2 |
17 | Esteban Ocon | 1 |
18 | Brendon Hartley | 1 |
19 | Romain Grosjean | 0 |
20 | Sergey Sirotkin | 0 |
F1 Constructors’ Standings
Position | Constructor | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Ferrari | 114 |
2 | Mercedes | 110 |
3 | Red Bull/Renault | 55 |
4 | McLaren/Renault | 36 |
5 | Renault | 35 |
6 | Force India/Mercedes | 16 |
7 | Toro Rosso/Honda | 13 |
8 | Haas/Ferrari | 11 |
9 | Sauber/Ferrari | 10 |
10 | Williams/Mercedes | 4 |
Read our full Formula 1 report on the Azerbaijan GP in the next issue of Auto Action on sale this week. Also make sure you follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or our weekly email newsletter for all the latest updates between issues.