Lewis Hamilton has taken his first win of the 2018 F1 season as the Red Bull’s of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo take each other out in a dramatic Baku GP.
Kimi Raikkonen fought back from his first lap crash with Ocon to somehow grab second place ahead of Force India of Perez. Vettel finished fourth after leading for most of the race but went to overtake Bottas in to turn one after the final safety car and out breaked himself and flat spotted his tyre. Dramatic Baku GP
Valtteri Bottas was set to take the win but then he hit some debris and suffered a puncture and in doing so handed the victory to his Mercedes team-mate Hamilton. Both Red Bulls failed to finish after Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo wiped each other out on lap 41, Ricciardo went to overtake Verstappen and he defended what some might say was a bit too aggressive or too many moves and Ricciardo went into the back of him.
Vettel got off to a good start he managed to keep both Mercedes of Hamilton and Bottas behind him also. Both the Red Bulls at that time had managed to maintain there position’s.
Raikkonen was under attack from Ocon at the start. Ocon managed to get in front of the Ferrari and turned in on turn two but there wasn’t room for two. Ocon was put into the barrier and out of the race, showering the track with debris. Behind them, Sergey Sirotkin and Fernando Alonso had a coming together which put the Williams out of the race and the Alonso limping back to pit lane with a puncture.
The other Force India of Sergio Perez sustained some minor damage from contact with Lance Stroll. He pitted for repairs when the safety car had been deployed to allow marshals to clean the debris from the track. Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson came in for a new set of soft tyres before restarting on lap 6. Dramatic Baku GP
Vettel backed up the field and held off until the last minute. In the end it was a clear restart, but not for Ricciardo who lost two places quickly, the first to Verstappen, and then another to Renault’s Carlos Sainz.
https://thef1page.co.uk/bottas-didnt-see-debris-that-cost-gp/Dramatic Baku GP
Sainz started the race on ultrasoft tyres, which gave him an advantage on the supersoft-that Verstappen was on. After a fantastic battle over multiple laps, Carlos Sainz was finally able to make his way past on lap 9.
Ocon’s teammate Sergio Perez had also sustained minor damage from contact with Lance Stroll. He pitted for repairs under the inevitable safety car which had been deployed to allow marshalls to clean the debris from the track. Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson also came in for a new set of soft tyres before the restart on lap 6.
Hulkenberg made his way past the Red Bull of Ricciardo for fifth place but was short-lived. Two laps later and the rear of the Renault slid into the wall at turn four which caused a puncture and he was forced to retire.
As a result of that Ricciardo and Verstappen was on track together, without team orders. That put the Red Bulls together on track, and there were no team orders as the pair tussled for position. Both appeared to be struggling with battery recharging issues leaving them frustrated. They both fought for position until lap 35 then Ricciardo finally got past. But got overcut by Verstappen in the pits. Dramatic Baku GP
Sainz’s ultra-soft tyres had reached the ‘cliff’ after 15 laps, and he was forced to pit for a set of softs. He was then back in 13th place, promoting Verstappen to fourth.Gasly also pitted. While Stoffel Vandoorne had been forced into an earlier stop than planned after flat-spotting his first set of tyres.
Hamilton lock-up into turn one at the start of lap 22 and reported back to his pit wall “Something’s happened, I don’t know what, These tyres are done.” Mercedes immediately pitted Hamilton next time around for the soft tyre. He just about held on to third place ahead of Red Bull, while Vettel and Bottas continued up front.
Hamilton couldn’t make any time upon the front-runners despite his fresher tyres. Vettel made his stop on lap 31. Bottas moved into the lead and stayed out. Ricciardo finally forced his way past Verstappen for fourth place going into turn 1 on lap 35.
Three laps later Ricciardo was called in with just 13 laps remaining, the plan was to finish on the ultrasoft tyres with a burst of speed. Ricciardo had a poor out-lap which led to Verstappen getting the jump in the pits.
Disaster loomed
Ricciardo behind on the main straight went to overtake Verstappen who closed the door on the inside which then led to the pair crashing into each other and out the race. Adrian Newey didnt look happy as he picked up his notes and stormed away to the garage.
The safety car allowed Bottas to make his own stop for ultra soft. Vettel and Hamilton both followed suit. The safety car was significantly delayed as Romain Grosjean’s Haas slammed into the wall while warming its tyres.
Safety car in and four laps to go. Bottas looked set to take the first win for Mercedes this season. The all of a sudden Bottas suffered a puncture after he ran over a piece of debris that wasn’t cleared under the safety car period. The lead was handed to Botta’s Mercedes team-mate Hamilton who took the win from Räikkönen and Sergio Perez.