Azerbaijan GP: A Race not to Forget

By Joseph, Sub-Editor

The Azerbaijan GP of 2017 has to go down as one of the best and most chaotic races of the decade so far. A first win of the year for Red Bull, a rookie on the podium, the Hamilton vs Vettel collision, Bottas’ recovery and the Force India fight. This race had it all.

In the inaugural Azerbaijan GP in 2016, the circuit was heavily criticised for producing what many people thought of was the most disappointing race of 2016, however, this year’s race proved that was just a flash in the pan and the Baku track really is a gem on the Formula 1 calendar.

The first corner was quite calm despite a spinning Toro Rosso in the mid pack. However, going into turn 2, Raikkonen and Bottas collided with the former retiring and the latter sustaining a puncture, subsequently meaning Bottas had to pit and rejoined at the back of the field. Verstappen’s mechanical woes continued in Baku with another engine blowout while he was in 4^th position. The race was relatively stable until a couple of safety cars and a red flag mid race due to debris meant the whole field bunched together again. Carnage ensued in the next few laps as Ocon hit Perez ruining the race for Force India. During the subsequent safety car, just before the next restart, Hamilton was slow going into the third sector and Vettel behind broke sharply to avoid hitting him. Vettel, outraged, swung outwards and banged into Hamilton’s car, a move which has caused much controversy over the past couple of weeks. Since the incident, Vettel has stated that he was not proud of his actions but his movement towards Hamilton has shown a dark side to the previously thought glowing world champion and role model.

Around lap 40, Hamilton’s head rest began to detach from his car and despite attempts to reposition it, Hamilton had to pit for safety reasons and a new headrest was put on the car. This left Vettel in the lead of the race, but seconds later he was given a 10 second penalty for his actions towards Lewis during the safety car. The two came out in 7^th and 8^th respectively. The two biggest rivals were not going to win today. This remarkable chain of events left Daniel Ricciardo leading the race followed by the rookie Lance Stroll, who was on course for his first podium after a rough start in Formula 1, and Kevin Magnussen (who was on track for his first podium since his debut in 2014).

The shenanigans left Ocon in fourth after recovering from the back, along with Valterri Bottas who had been fighting his way through the field since his first corner scrap with Raikkonen. Bottas, Vettel and Hamilton carved through Magnussen and Ocon to occupy 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th. However, Bottas was gaining on Stroll rapidly and caught him on the final straight of the race, beating him by centimetres.

Daniel Ricciardo had won the race and had his first victory since Malaysia 2016. Lance Stroll had finished on the podium in his rookie year, and Vettel and Hamilton had fought tooth and nail. No matter who you are, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was a spectacle to behold.