Bottas cruises to victory in Azerbaijan
BAKU — Valtteri Bottas won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday to retake the Formula One world championship lead from team mate Lewis Hamilton after a stunning fourth successive one-two finish for Mercedes.
The Finn, who started on pole position, crossed the line 1.524 seconds ahead of Hamilton to make up for the agony of 2018 when he was denied victory in Baku by a late puncture.
The pair are now separated by just one point with 17 races remaining, with Mercedes 70 points ahead of Ferrari in the constructors’ standings.
“It was actually a tough race,” said Bottas, who went side-by-side with Hamilton on the opening lap and showed plenty of grit and determination in fending off the Briton to hold position.
“Lewis was putting pressure all the time, I could not do any mistakes,” added the 29-year-old who came under renewed threat from Hamilton in the dying laps.
Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari was a distant third as the Italian pre-season favourites again failed to convert their promise into a result. The win around the streets of capital Baku was the fifth of Bottas’ career and he became the first driver this season to win from pole.
Like Hamilton, he now has two wins and two second places from the first four races but is ahead thanks to the extra point he scored for setting the fastest lap on his way to victory in the Australian season opener.
“I was too friendly at turn one and basically gave it to him,” said Hamilton. Mercedes are the first two-car team in Formula One’s 70year history to open a season with four straight one-twos.
Max Verstappen was fourth for Red Bull ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. —