Lewis Hamilton finally won his first Formula One race of the 2018 racing season, but not in the dominant fashion he has become accustomed to over the years. Instead, it took a crash by both Red Bull drivers, a mistake by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and a tire puncture of his teammate Valtteri Bottas to have the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix victory handed to him on a Mercedes silver platter. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen finished second while Force India’s Sergio Perez grabbed the third and final podium spot just ahead of Vettel.
Vettel was the pole-sitter for the race and had built up a 10-second lead halfway through the race and appeared to be on his way to an easy victory when he pitted ahead of Bottas who stayed out hoping for a safety car and got it when the two Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen collided, securing the lead for Bottas in the 40th lap. Vettel made an error in Lap 48, locking up his wheels and allowing both Hamilton and Raikkonen to pass him. The race would have been Bottas’ to win until he ran over a piece of debris from the Red Bull fracas in Lap 49 and Vettel was passed by Perez on the same lap. Hamilton was the beneficiary of all this to get the win.
With the victory, Hamilton now enjoys a four-point lead over Vettel – 70-66 – in the driver standings, with Raikkonen in third with 48 points.
2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Top 10
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:43:44.291
2 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari +2.460
3 Sergio Pérez Force India +4.024
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +5.329
5 Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault +7.515
6 Charles Leclerc Sauber +9.158
7 Fernando Alonso McLaren +10.931
8 Lance Stroll Williams +12.546
9 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren +14.152
10 Brendan Hartley Toro Rosso +18.030