Lewis rides luck in dramatic race
BOTTAS: HAMILTON’S TEAM-MATE SUFFERS PUNCTURE
Baku
Lewis Hamilton was subdued in his celebrations while his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas was left devastated after the defending world champion claimed an unlikely victory in yesterday’s incident-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Their conflicting emotions summed up the range of moods following an extraordinary contest that saw two Safety Car interventions, championship leader Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari outwitted and beaten and the Red Bull drivers crash into each other.
Bottas had looked likely to win until he was hit by a puncture after running over debris in the final laps and gifted victory to his team-mate.
It was Hamilton’s first win this year and 63rd of his career and lifted him beyond Vettel back to the top of the title standings.
Hamilton had struggled to keep pace for much of the race and said it felt “a bit odd” to win after both men hit trouble.
Chasing Bottas after the final re-start, Vettel tried to pass him at the first corner, but out-braked himself and locked up as he speared off circuit before rejoining to finish fourth.
Bottas then retired with the end in sight when he suffered a dramatic puncture after hitting debris left on the main straight.
“It was quite an emotional race to be honest,” said Hamilton. “Valtteri did such an exceptional job and really deserved to win and Sebastian also did a great job.”
Hamilton’s first win in seven races stretching back to last October took him to 70 points, ahead of Vettel on 66 and Kimi Raikkonen on 48. Bottas has 40.
Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda blamed the poor work in clearing the track after the multiple accidents for Bottas’s misfortune.
“It was good and bad today,” he said. “Why didn’t they clean up the circuit properly? There was so much time to do it … It was a disaster for Bottas and for Lewis it was really good.” –