Hamilton wins chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Mercedes world champion leads the title race after his first win of the season while arch-rival Vettel finishes fourth after leading for much of the way
Lewis Hamilton won an incident-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday to take over the championship lead.
Sebastian Vettel led for much of the race, but was stuck in second behind Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas when a crash between the two Red Bulls brought out the safety car.
On the restart, Vettel lunged for the lead but could not keep his car on the racing line at the exit of the next corner and instead lost places.
Soon afterward, Bottas’ right-rear tyre picked up a puncture, ending his race and elevating Hamilton to first.
“Really quite an emotional race to be honest,” Hamilton said. “Valtteri did such an exceptional job today and really deserved to have the win.”
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen claimed second place after having dropped to 14th following an early collision. Sergio Perez held off Vettel for third to claim Force India’s first podium since 2016.
The two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo battled all race for fourth place. After several dramatic near-misses, they collided on lap 40 when Ricciardo ran into the back of Verstappen under braking at the first corner, sending them both off the track.