Ricciardo wins chaotic race
STAYING CALM Red Bull driver avoids crashes to take top spot; Vettel finishes fourth, Hamilton fifth
Stroll, who earned his first podium finish.
Hamilton was on pole position for the 66th time in his career, with Bottas second on the grid; Kimi Raikkonen third and Vettel fourth.
Hamilton got away cleanly, but Raikkonen clipped Bottas and bumped his own Ferrari into the wall, and Vettel surged past them into second place.
But Bottas had to pit on the second lap for a new front wing, dropping to last, while Raikkonen complained of damage to the rear of his car.
Up ahead, Hamilton asked over the radio where Bottas was, perhaps concerned his teammate would not be able to protect him from Vettel later in the race.
Force India’s Sergio Perez jumped up to third, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fourth ahead of Raikkonen.
Moments later, Verstappen had to retire — from four of the past six races — because of engine problems.
At about the same time, the safety car came out for the first time because Daniil Kvyat’s Toro Rosso was stalled on the side of the track.
This prompted a flurry of activity as drivers switched tires, changing the race order somewhat. The race was just about to start again when race control called for the safety car to stay out, because of debris from Raikkonen’s car.
The slowness of the safety car was annoying Hamilton, who complained that he couldn’t get enough temperature into his tires. Then came that incident with Vettel.
“He brake-tested me!” an angry Vettel said, while Hamilton argued differently.
When the race finally did start again — on lap 20 — Vettel just about held off the Williams cars of Felipe Massa and Stroll.
Within moments, the safety car was out again for the third time after Sergio Perez and his Force India teammate Esteban Ocon collided.
Perez was seemingly forced out of the race as too was Raikkonen, whose right rear tire was completely shredded.
With debris littering the track, it was way too dangerous to race and the red flag came out on lap 22 of 51. With the cars parked in the pit lane, mechanics made minor repairs. A sullen-looking Vettel chatted to Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, while Hamilton slipped on his headphones as he listened to music with his sunglasses on.