Lewis Hamilton ended his Formula One winning drought in spectacular fashion after his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas suffered a 220mph tyre blow-out in the closing stages of a dramatic Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel had appeared on course to secure a commanding and well-deserved victory only for the race to turn on its head when Red Bull team-mates Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo collided.
That crash allowed Bottas to take the lead by virtue of pitting under the safety car, but his chances of victory were sensationally scuppered when he ran over debris and suffered a high-speed puncture with only three laps remaining.
Hamilton has now taken control of the championship by four points, with Vettel finishing only fourth after he ran off the road at turn one in his attempt to retake the lead from Bottas.
Here’s our main takeaways from Baku.
Lewis low on confidence (not anymore)
The Brit capitalised on some serious luck to take his first win since the US Grand Prix last October. The Stevenage native is not a four-time world champion for nothing, and of course, like any job or sport, there is bound to be bad days along the way. He looked to be off the pace early in the race but with Sebastian Vettel locking up and Valtteri Bottas suffering a puncture, the 33-year-old stormed ahead to snatch a remarkable victory and now leads the title race by four points. It is impossible for anyone to perform at a consistently high level across the entire season, and with the Ferraris gaining solid ground, this season is set up to be a thriller as Hamilton and Vettel go in search of that illustrious fifth world title. Advantage may be in the reigning champion’s favour now, but expect Vettel to fight back in Barcelona.
More frustration for Vettel
It looked like it would be a facile victory for the German, but two safety cars resulted in Valtteri Bottas taking the lead and Vettel’s frustration growing. But the German attempted to re-take the lead with three laps remaining and locked up, resulting in Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen taking his place. The 29-year-old could only manage fourth – and now trails Hamilton in the title race. Despite the disappointment, Vettel looks heads and shoulder above Hamilton based on his driving ability and searing confidence so far this season. Off the track, the key difference is he looks happier than his rival, and is enjoying driving a faster Ferrari car that looks a serious threat to Mercedes’ dominance in the constructors’ championship. A minor blip again, but the German will romp back stronger in Spain.
Verstappen v Ricciardo
The Red Bull duel was bubbling throughout the race from the initial contact caused by Verstappen to the left side of Ricciardo’s car on lap 12, to the Australian overtaking his teammate on lap 35. But four laps later after both cars pitted, the Dutchman emerged ahead on his ultra softs. Ricciardo attempted to get past Verstappen but the youngster defended reasonably well, resulting in the 28-year-old slamming into the back of his teammate. The Perth native may have committed too soon and it was utter bad luck, but Verstappen is a dangerous driver to be on the track with and needs to pull his head on if he is to ever fulfill his potential as a future world champion.
Stunning Sergio
Bottas may have been unlucky in suffering a puncture late in the race, but Perez drove his Force India car like a peach around the sweeping track in Baku. He looked composed all day as he held off the challenges of Vettel and Sainz to take his first podium since Azerbaijan in 2016. After finishing fourth in the constructors championship last season, this year has proven to be a tougher affair for Force India but a first podium in two years makes it all the sweeter as they attempt to get back to their consistent form of old.
Classy Leclerc
The Monaco native produced a stunning drive on Sunday to seal sixth place in a largely uncompetitive Sauber car. The former GP2 champion passed Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz en route to taking his team’s first points of the season. Remarkably, he raced more laps in the top ten in Baku than his teammate Marcus Ericsson did for the entire 2017 season.
Ocon lacking form of 2017
The Frenchman has yet to scale the heights of last season when he sealed 18 top-10 finishes. With 10th, 11th and 12th place finishes in his first three races respectively, the Force India driver would have surely come into Sunday’s race full of confidence having qualified seventh. But a crash on the first lap now sees Ocon fall further behind his teammate Perez who looked sublime all afternoon. In a 21-race season, Ocon has plenty of time to turn around his form but, in truth, many expected Ocon to step up a gear in his second season. The Evreux native has been highly impressive in terms of consistency and genuine speed, but needs to show his class of last season if he is to be considered for a potential Mercedes seat in the future.
