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LEWIS HAMILTON WINS DRAMATIC AZERBAIJAN GP

Lewis Hamilton winning the Azerbaijan GP - Photo: LAT

By Bruce Williams

Lewis Hamilton winning the Azerbaijan GP - Photo: LAT

Lewis Hamilton winning the Azerbaijan GP – Photo: LAT

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.

The two damaged Red Bulls during the Azerbaijan GP - Photo: LAT

The two damaged Red Bulls during the Azerbaijan GP – Photo: LAT

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 FacebookTwitter, Instagram or our weekly email newsletter for all the latest updates between issues.