Race of the decade – Azerbaijan GP

In one of the most chaotic races since the 2005 Indianapolis GP that saw the race being red flagged and safety car being deployed twice, Ricciardo came victorious, followed by Bottas and 18-year old Williams driver, Lance Stroll.

Hamilton started the race on pole and seemed comfortable as the race started. On the other hand, most o the cars following him faced the wrath of the first corner. Bottas clashed with Raikkonen, leading to a puncture on the right front tyre and had to limp back to the pits. Verstappen on the other hand had another great start but had to retire after his car faced oil issues.

Highlight of the race was the clash between Hamilton and Vettel, during the safety car restart Vettel first hit Hamilton from behind and then passed him and hit him on the the tyres. There was not much of damage on the cars but Vettel was handed a 10 seconds stop and go penalty. However, Hamilton’s headrest was not fixed properly after the race was restarted and the stewards asked him to pit and get it fixed, which added 23 seconds of time and put him back behind Bottas on 8th. Bottas showed great speed and Sahara Force India drivers again gave each other a tough time, taking their chances of the podium away. And that gave Lance Stroll and Ricciardo some breathing space. In the final lap though, Bottas took the charge and passed Stroll just metres away before the finish line.

Vettel was given 3 penalty points on his licence and he will have to be lenient in the Austrian GP or else he faces a race ban in Silverstone. Hamilton and Vettel are now separated by 14 points in the driver’s championship.