VETTEL ROAD RAGE COSTS LEWIS
F1: AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX Title rivals get down and dirty
WHEN the destiny of this season’s drivers’ championship is decided, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be remembered as the race where the fight got dirty.
Before the battle of Baku, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel had raced with the respect that comes with being a multiple world title winner.
When the dust settled on a chaotic race, which saw three safety cars and a red flag, the insults and accusations were flying around as readily as the carbon fibre shards that accompanied every crash.
Daniel Ricciardo produced a remarkable drive to steer his Red Bull through the carnage to take the win from 10th place on the grid.
Williams’ 18-year-old rookie, Lance Stroll, bagged his first podium with a mature drive when experienced pros like Ferrari’s Vettel were seeing red.
Stroll could even have grabbed second had Valtteri Bottas not swept by on the run to the chequered flag, the Mercedes driver recovering in stunning fashion from a first-lap shunt with fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen.
But such heroics were overshadowed as Vettel demonstrated it will not take much provocation from Hamilton to bring back the kind of road rage that featured in his early career.
Hamilton had made sure he was in the best place to stay out of trouble, powering his Mercedes away cleanly from pole.
But the flashpoint came when he was leading the field during from JAMES MURRAY the second safety car period. in Baku
The British driver claimed he was simply controlling the pace it was not doled out until after as they exited Turn 16. another safety car period as
Vettel saw it very differently, Force India team-mates Sergio insisting he had been brake Perez and Esteban Ocon tussled. tested by Hamilton.
The Ferrari smacked into the back of the Mercedes, prompting Vettel to draw alongside Hamilton to gesticulate wildly before deliberately banging wheels with his rival.
Punishment was inevitable but
The restart was clean, too, but Hamilton’s chances of victory evaporated when he was forced to pit from the lead to replace a loose headrest. The cruel luck was at least tempered when Vettel was ordered into the pits for a 10-second stop-go penalty.
Even so, Vettel still managed to extend his title lead to 14 points, emerging ahead of Hamilton in fourth.
Hamilton has come from much further back to win world titles.
But following the retirement of Nico Rosberg, it looked like bad-tempered battles with German rivals were a thing of the past – but not any more. 1 S Vettel (Ger) ..................... 153 2 L Hamilton (GB) .................. 139 3 V Bottas (Fin) .................... 111 4 D Ricciardo (Aus) ................ 92 5 K Raikkonen (Fin) ................ 73 6 M Verstappen (Hol) .............. 45 7 S Perez (Mex) ..................... 44 8 E Ocon (Fra) ....................... 35 9 C Sainz (Spa) ..................... 29 10 F Massa (Brz) ..................... 20 1 Mercedes .................... 250 2 Ferrari ......................... 226 3 Red Bull ...................... 137 4 Force India .................... 79 5 Williams ....................... 37 6 Toro Rosso ................... 33 7 Haas .............................. 21 8 Renault ......................... 18 9 Sauber ............................ 5 10 McLaren .......................... 2