Sebastian Vettel was penalised for dangerous driving after
deliberately crashing into title rival Lewis Hamilton in a wild and
chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix won by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo on
Sunday.
Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas snatched second place
from 18-year-old Williams driver Lance Stroll in the final straight, as
Vettel finished fourth ahead of Hamilton to extend his championship lead
to 14 points.
Despite Ricciardo's win, the race will be remembered for the angry
confrontation between former world champions Vettel and Hamilton.
Ferrari star Vettel was handed a 10-seconds stop-go penalty during
the race for "dangerous driving" after he deliberately drove into
Hamilton's Mercedes while both were following the safety car.
Vettel claimed Hamilton had braked in front of him and he responded
by driving into the back of his rival before then bumping the Briton
from the side.
"I think 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,"
Hamilton told Sky Sports.
Vettel pleaded innocent.
"Nothing happened, did it? He brake checked me as well, so what do you expect?," the German told Sky.
"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 struggling even more,
so I don't think it was necessary.
"I got damage, he risked damage. He's done something similar in China
at the restart a couple of years ago so it's not the way to do it, I
think.
"I passed him because he pitted. After the incident, we were side by
side, I raised my hand and told him, well I didn't say anything, but
showed him that I wasn't happy with that."
Making the most of a series of extraordinary incidents and
interventions in an action-packed race, which included three safety car
interventions and a red-flagged stoppage, Ricciardo, who started 10th,
roared home 3.904 seconds ahead of the rest to deliver his first win of
the season.
Esteban Ocon of Force India was sixth ahead of Kevin Magnussen of
Haas, Carlos Sainz of Toro Rosso, who also survived a first-lap
collision, two-time champion Fernando Alonso, who scored McLaren's first
points of the year in ninth, and Pascal Wehrlein of Sauber.
Hamilton, who had dominated after a strong start from his 66th pole
position, was also undone by a loose headrest that caused him to be
ordered to pit for repairs, for safety reasons.
Bottas meanwhile produced a brilliant drive to take his fifth podium
finish of the season, having dropped to the back of the field after a
first-lap bump with fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen. -AFP
Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Results
1. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull - TAG Heuer 2:03:55.573
2. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Mercedes +00:03.904
3. Lance Stroll (Canada) Williams-Mercedes 00:04.009
4. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari 00:05.976
5. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 00:06.188
6. Esteban Ocon (France) Force India - Mercedes 00:30.298
7. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) Haas - Ferrari 00:41.753
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain) Toro Rosso - Renault 00:49.400
9. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 00:59.551
10. Pascal Wehrlein (Germany) Sauber - Ferrari 01:29.093
11. Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Sauber - Ferrari 01:31.794
12. Stoffel Vandoorne (Belgium) McLaren 01:32.160
13. Romain Grosjean (France) Haas - Ferrari 1 lap
14r. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 5 laps
r. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - Mercedes 12 laps
r. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams-Mercedes 26 laps
r. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Renault 27 laps
r. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull - TAG Heuer 40 laps
r. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso - Renault 42 laps
r. Jolyon Palmer (Britain) Renault 45 laps
Fastest Lap: Sebastian Vettel,1:43.441, lap 47.
Driver Standings
1. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari - 153
2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes - 139
3. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Mercedes - 111
4. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull - 92
5. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari - 73
6. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull - 45
7. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - 44
8. Esteban Ocon (France) Force India - 35
9. Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain) Toro Rosso - 29
10. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams - 20
11. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Renault - 18
12. Lance Stroll (Canada) Williams - 17
13. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) Haas - 11
14. Romain Grosjean (France) Haas - 10
15. Pascal Wehrlein (Germany) Sauber - 5
16. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso - 4
17. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren - 2
18. Jolyon Palmer (Britain) Renault - 0
19. Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Sauber - 0
20. Stoffel Vandoorne (Belgium) McLaren - 0
21. Antonio Giovinazzi (Italy) Sauber - 0
Constructor Standings
1. Mercedes - 250
2. Ferrari - 226
3. Red Bull - TAG Heuer - 137
4. Force India - Mercedes - 79
5. Williams-Mercedes - 37
6. Toro Rosso - Renault - 33
7. Haas - Ferrari - 21
8. Renault - 18
9. Sauber - Ferrari - 5
10. McLaren - 2