Hammy rages at Seb after being battered in Baku
FURIOUS Lewis Hamilton branded Sebastien Vettel a “disgrace” and challenged him to settle their argument “out of the car” as the Formula One title race turned ugly in Baku.
The Englishman was left raging after Vettel drove into the back of him under the safety car at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The German then pulled alongside the Mercedes racer and rammed him, accusing Hamilton of braking erratically.
Ferrari ace Vettel was later hit with a 10-second stop-go penalty but still pipped Hamilton to fourth as Daniel Ricciardo took the chequered flag.
Raging Hamilton said: “I didn’t brake check him at all. For him to pretty much get away with driving into another driver is a disgrace. He disgraced himself today.
“If he wants to prove he is a man we should do it out of the car, we should do it face to face.
“Imagine all the young kids watching today, seeing that kind of behaviour from a world champion. It’s just not driver conduct. It’s dangerous driving and to get a 10-second penalty for that ... I don’t need to say anything else.”
Vettel protested his innocence and added: “Nothing happened did it? He brake checked me as well so what do you expect? I’m sure he didn’t do it on purpose but for sure it was not the right move. If I’m struggling, people at the back are struggling even more, so I don’t think it was necessary.
“I got damage, he risked damage. He has done something similar in China at 1. 2. 4. 1. 2. 3. 5. the restart a couple of years ago so it’s not the way to do it. I passed him because he pitted it. After the incident we were side by side. I raised my hand and showed him I wasn’t happy.”
The incident dominated a race which saw Ricciardo win for Red Bull ahead of Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas with 18-year-old Lance Stroll in third for Williams.
It was the Aussie’s first victory since the Malaysian Grand Prix last year and lifted him to fourth on 92 points, behind Vettel on 153, Hamilton on 139 and Bottas on 111.
Canadian Stroll’s previous best was a ninthplaced finish on home soil earlier this month. He’s now the youngest Formula One driver to make the podium in his maiden season. Bottas collided with Ferrari rival Kimi Raikkonen early on and both were forced to pitt. While the Finn was forced to retire later in the race, Bottas staged a remarkable comeback, battling back from last to a podium position before overhauling Stroll on the line. 3. 4. 5.