Overall, I thought it was the best race of the season so far and one of the best Grand Prix I have seen for a while. Sebastian Vettel on pole for Sunday's race. Come race day, Vettel was unstoppable, lead the first half of the Grand Prix. By lap 30, Vettel pitted for tyres while Valtteri Bottas lead, while Vettel waiting to retake the lead of the race for Bottas to pit for his second stop of the race when the race awake itself on lap 39, when the Safety Car was deployed for the second time in the race involving both Red Bull drivers' Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen collided with each other at the first corner.
Meant that Bottas got a free pit-stop and retain the lead with Vettel behind in second place. When the Safety Car period end on lap 47, things change Vettel attempted to overtake Bottas at the first corner on lap 48 he locked up and ran wide letting both Lewis Hamilton and team-mate Kimi Räikkönen for second and third place, and then later in the lap for Sergio Pérez for fourth place. Giving Mercedes a one-two finish with Bottas bolted clear over the rest of the field, until at the start of lap 49 when Bottas cruelly picked up a left-rear puncture at the end of the start-finish straight and instantly retiring out of the race.
Giving Current Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton the lead with three laps to go and stayed there till the end to give Lewis Hamilton the race win in this seasons Azerbaijan Grand Prix and his first race win of the season.
While, Kimi Räikkönen finished in second place in Ferrari, Räikkönen was two and half seconds behind Hamilton at the end.
Meanwhile, Sergio Pérez finished in third place in the Force India to complete the podium for Pérez's first podium finish since the 2016 European Grand Prix at Baku, Pérez was four seconds behind Hamilton at the end.
Quick mention to Charles Leclerc in the Sauber finishing sixth place in a impressive weekend from the former F2 Champion, Leclerc was nine seconds behind Hamilton at the end.
Finally, a quick mention to Brendon Hartley in the Toro Rosso finishing tenth place becoming the first New Zealand driver to score point since Chris Amon did at the 1976 Spanish Grand Prix, Hartley was eighteen seconds behind Hamilton at the end of the fifty-one lap race.
Highlights of the race below, enjoy.
Rate the Teams and Drivers
Mercedes - 8
Lewis Hamilton - 9 (race win)
Valtteri Bottas - 8 (DNF, Puncture)
Ferrari - 8
Sebastian Vettel - 8 (pole, finished fourth)
Kimi Räikkönen - 8 (finished second)
Red Bull Racing - 7
Daniel Ricciardo - 7 (DNF, Collision with Verstappen)
Max Verstappen - 7 (DNF, Collision with Ricciardo)
Force India - 7
Sergio Pérez- 9 (finished third)
Esteban Ocon- 6 (DNF, Collision with Räikkönen)
Williams - 7
Lance Stroll - 8 (finished eighth)
Sergey Sirotkin - 6 (DNF, Collision with Pérez)
Renault - 8
Nico Hülkenberg - 7 (DNF, Crashed out)
Carlos Sainz Jr. - 9 (finished fifth)
Toro Rosso - 6
Pierre Gasly - 5 (finished twelfth)
Brendon Hartley - 7 (finished tenth)
Haas - 5
Romain Grosjean - 6 (DNF, Crashed out)
Kevin Magnussen - 5 (finished thirteenth)
McLaren - 6
Fernando Alonso - 8 (finished seventh)
Stoffel Vandoorne - 6 (finished ninth)
Sauber - 7
Marcus Ericsson - 5 (finished eleventh)
Charles Leclerc - 10 (finished sixth)
Next stop Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona in two weeks time for the Spanish Grand Prix.
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