Dan the man as top duo lose it
DANIEL Ricciardo claimed his fifth Formula One career victory by fighting back from 17th to win an incident-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Australian Red Bull driver made the most a scrap between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton to win from the Mercedes of Valterri Bottas and Williams rookie Lance Stroll.
Championship leader Vettel finished fourth in his Ferrari, while pole-sitting Mercedes star Hamilton was fifth after both were handed penalties on the streets of Baku.
The result is Ricciardo’s first victory since he won the Malaysian Grand Prix in October 2016 and his fourthstraight podium finish after third places in Spain, Monaco and Canada.
But the 27-year-old didn’t have it all his own way, having to pit on lap six after encountering a problem caused by debris from Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari.
“It was just a crazy race. We knew the podium was a chance after the restart and then we heard about the problems with Lewis and Seb,” Ricciardo said.
“I made an unplanned pit stop at the beginning, we had some debris in the brakes so we had to stop and clean them and dropped back to 17th place.
“Did I think I would win today? Absolutely not.”
The race fell apart for so many of Ricciardo’s rivals.
His teammate Max Verstappen retired with engine problems, then Daniil Kvyat parked his Toro Rosso, prompting a safety car which would eventually see Vettel and Hamilton collide behind it.
Race leader Hamilton slowed suddenly and the following Vettel could not avoid making contact from behind.
Vettel reacted to what he deemed to be brake-testing by immediately drawing level with Hamilton and turning his car into his rival in a deliberate act of revenge.
Hamilton later lost his lead having to pit to refix his head restraint while Vettel was issued a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for dangerous driving.
“He brake-tested me. What the (expletive) is going on?” yelled Vettel over the team radio.
On the restart, the Force India of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez collided, allowing Ricciardo to sneak into fifth for the second restart - from which he duly passed the Williams pair of Felipe Massa and Stroll to move into third. When Vettel pitted, Ricciardo strolled into the lead to streak away with victory.