Lewis took his 63rd career victory today - his first in Azerbaijan and of the 2018 season. Valtteri was leading with only two laps to go, when debris punctured his right rear tyre. Today's result marks the 275th race led for Mercedes-Benz power.
Lewis (70 points) leads the Drivers' Championship by four points from Sebastian Vettel (66 points) with Valtteri (40 points) in P4. Ferrari (114 points) leads the Constructors' Championship by four points from Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport (110 points).
Toto Wolff: That was just a brutal race and probably exactly the kind of Grand Prix that fans want to see, with twists and turns at every point. In the garage, it was a real rollercoaster of emotions for the whole team and I am really pleased to see us get our first win of the season with Lewis but equally incredibly disappointed for Valtteri who drove a perfect race. We went from looking like scoring a solid double podium, to suddenly having the possibility of a one-two before it was snatched away from us with Valtteri's puncture, to still winning the race. For Lewis, I guess that his luck has come full circle after the misfortune earlier in the season, and it's probably fair to look at today as him getting back the win he lost in Melbourne. The race began pretty quietly, with clean starts for our guys and then everything unfolding steadily. Lewis got caught out with a gust of wind under braking, flat spotting his first set of tyres. This forced him to stop on lap 22 and take the Soft compound to the finish. Meanwhile, Valtteri stayed out and was just getting faster and faster; we stayed on track because he was building the gap to Vettel, and perhaps had a chance for the win with a late charge on UltraSoft, when the Safety Car came out for the Red Bull accident. We pitted both cars and, after Sebastian's mistake on the restart, we were set for the one-two finish when Valtteri hit a piece of debris that was on the track. Clearly that perfect result wasn't meant to be today in such an unpredictable race. So it's a bittersweet feeling: fantastic to get the win on the board and to be leading the drivers' championship, but also disappointed because the quickest guy DNF'd with a puncture - and because we know there is still work ahead of us to improve the pace of the car in what will be a close three-way fight for the rest of the season.
James Allison: After three races where we had opportunities to win that we did not take, it's great to have victory come our way this afternoon in Baku. I am as pleased for Lewis as I am sad for Valtteri after the race. Both drivers delivered fine performances but it was a cruel blow to have the prospect of a one-two finish dangled in front of us and then whisked away at the last when Valtteri drove over some debris following the Safety Car period. That's two races running where he has deserved a much better outcome and I am confident it will come for him in the future. For Lewis, this was perhaps not the kind of swashbuckling victory he relishes but it nonetheless represents a measure of compensation for some of his misfortune in earlier races this season. On the operational side, the entire team performed well to recover from a difficult Friday and secure solid grid positions which were the foundations for today's races. We delivered quick pit stops and excellent strategy decisions, all of which keep us in the game as we work to improve the car, in what is shaping up to be a dramatic and very memorable season.
Maurizio Arrivabene: As we had already seen yesterday, today our car proved to be very competitive and capable of doing well on any kind of circuit. We were controlling the race with Sebastian, but the double intervention of the Safety Car cancelled the gap we had built up. As for Kimi, after the accident on Lap 1, he charged back to second place. All weekend long, the team reacted strongly and calmly and now we're looking ahead to the next race in Spain.
Christian Horner: "It was a really frustrating race for the Team today. After some hard racing between the two drivers throughout the Grand Prix, unfortunately, contact was made after the pitstop resulting in the retirement of both cars. Obviously, for the Team it is hugely disappointing. We allow our drivers to race wheel-to-wheel, which they have done to great effect during the last two years. Unfortunately, today has happened and there is no blame apportioned to either side. It is hugely frustrating for the Team and the drivers have apologised. The most important thing is to learn from today and ensure that we avoid a repeat situation."
Sahara Force India returned to the podium today as Sergio Perez battled his way to an epic third place finish in an entertaining Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Esteban Ocon was taken out on lap one after being hit by Kimi Raikkonen.
Otmar Szafnauer: "Huge congratulations to Sergio and the entire team on a fantastic podium finish in Baku. We have been quick all weekend and it's very satisfying to convert our potential into solid points. Sergio drove a remarkable race, recovering from damage on lap one to snatch the podium finish from Sebastian [Vettel] with just three laps to go. He did everything we asked of him and the strategy was spot on, even allowing us to recover from a five seconds penalty. This result is down to a tremendous team effort and feels all the more enjoyable after a difficult start to the season and some unlucky races. Of course, it was disappointing to lose Esteban on lap one when he was taken out by Raikkonen because he would surely have scored points as well. The result gives us a nice boost as we return to Europe and shows just how much progress we have made over the last month to bring performance to the car."
Lance Stroll finished eighth in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix whilst Sergey Sirotkin retired from the race. Both cars started on the supersoft Pirelli tyre, with Lance starting 10th and Sergey 11th after Hulkenberg was awarded a gearbox penalty. Several incidents on the opening lap made for a chaotic start to the race, with Ocon's crashed Force India bringing out the Safety Car. Lance emerged unscathed on lap one to climb to P7 however Sergey suffered contact and retired. On lap 23, Lance pitted for soft tyres and re-joined in 12th. The Safety Car was deployed for a second time on lap 40 when both Red Bull's collided into turn one. The Safety Car period was then prolonged when Grosjean crashed his Haas into the wall, elevating Lance to P8. Lance made his second and final pitstop under the Safety Car, changing to a set of ultrasoft tyres. At the restart, Alonso moved ahead of him, but he was promoted back to P8 on the final lap due to Bottas picking up a puncture and retiring from the lead. Lance's eighth place secures the team's first points of the season.
Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: Firstly, it was very disappointing to lose Sergey at the start after a coming together with Alonso and Hulkenberg put an early finish to his race. As usual, we had a highly eventful afternoon with lots of incidents right to the very end, so it was great to get eighth position with Lance. I'm happy in one way but disappointed in another, because I think there were many more points possible for us today. Even so, it was a great drive by Lance, all weekend in fact. He kept the car in one piece which is actually one of the key things at this circuit. It is great to get our first points on the board this season and we need to keep this momentum going.
Renault Sport Formula One Team secured its best-ever finish since its return to Formula 1 in today's Azerbaijan Grand Prix. In an exceptional, incident-filled race Carlos Sainz finished in fifth position; the first time Renault has finished in the top five since resuming the sport in 2016.
Nico Hulkenberg had a bittersweet race; starting fourteenth on the grid the German had a strong start and quickly moved up the field to challenge Carlos in the top five. Unfortunately, after the safety car, he went wide at turn four and hit the wall, damaging the car's suspension and retiring from the race.
Renault Sport Formula One Team retains fifth in the Constructors' Championship, but has closed the gap to fourth-placed McLaren to just one point.
Nico started the race from P14 on his qualifying Ultrasoft (purple) Pirelli tyres, retiring from the race on lap 10 after running wide out of turn four and hitting the wall.
Carlos started the race from P9 on his qualifying Ultrasoft (purple) tyres, pitting on lap 15 from P4 for a new set of Soft (yellow) tyres, followed by a stop under the Safety Car from P7 on lap 40 for a new set of Ultrasofts.
Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: "We were not sure what to expect for this race, but fifth for Carlos is a great result, our best since returning to the sport two years ago. We have to admit it came in exceptional circumstances, but it is very positive. Carlos drove a very mature race, managing his tyres well, and fighting with multiple cars throughout the race. It is very encouraging to look at how the grid has changed since last year; the gap to Red Bull and from the Renault engine to the rest of the field is obvious evidence of all the progress we have made and continue to make every weekend. Nico had some misfortune, but it was his only mistake last year and if it has to be his only mistake again this year, he will be more than forgiven. Overall a very good weekend; as a team we scored another handful of points and more than McLaren, so the deficit is now very close as we head towards Europe."
Franz Tost (Team Principal): "Generally speaking, it was a difficult weekend for us. We struggled yesterday in Qualifying and therefore we had to start from 17th and 19th position on the grid. I was quite upset yesterday when we didn't achieve Q2 - which was realistic because Pierre showed quite good performance and he was on a fast lap when the incident with Brendon happened. However, looking into it afterwards I must say that we have to be quite happy that nothing major occurred between them. Regarding today's race, I want to congratulate Brendon for his first point in F1! We knew Baku would have been a difficult race for us, but our performance this weekend was not on the level we expected. We will work hard to improve and be in a better position in the next races."
Toyoharu Tanabe (Honda F1 Technical Director): "After a difficult first two days, both drivers did well to stay out of trouble in the early chaos and managed to move up the order, with Pierre running inside the top ten in the early part and again towards the end until the coming together with Magnussen. In the end, we benefited from the mistakes of others for Brendon to take his first F1 point. The whole package lacked top speed today, more so than on the first two days and we must now look at the cause for that. However, it is clear that part of the reason for this is that we are still slightly down on power compared to our rivals. We knew this and are working hard on development to improve, while not compromising the reliability of the PU components."
The tight and twisty Baku City Circuit created another action-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix. With less than 10 laps remaining in Sunday's 51-lap contest around the 6.003-kilometer (3.730-mile), 20-turn track, Haas F1 Team was primed to take advantage of the chaos and score its first double-points finish of the season, as drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen were running sixth and 11th, respectively. Ultimately, Haas F1 Team became a part of the chaos, with Magnussen finishing 13th and Grosjean crashing out to earn 15th.
The result was not indicative of the effort put forth by the American squad, as Grosjean rallied from his 20th-place starting spot and Magnussen came from 15th on the grid.
Grosjean started last after a gearbox problem prevented him from posting a time in qualifying on Saturday. But from the drop of the green flag, Grosjean took advantage of others' miscues, rising to 13th as he deftly avoided numerous incidents amongst his Formula One brethren.
With plenty of debris on the track to clean up after the opening-lap skirmishes, the safety car was deployed, allowing Grosjean and Magnussen to duck into the pits. Grosjean swapped the Pirelli P Zero Yellow soft tires he started the race with for a set of Red supersofts. Magnussen did the opposite, ditching his softs for supersofts.
When the race restarted on lap six, Grosjean was 14th and Magnussen was 16th. A lap later, they were nose to tail in 14th and 15th.
Grosjean methodically worked his way forward, cracking the top-10 when Carlos Sainz Jr., pitted his Renault on lap 15. Grosjean then grabbed ninth when Lance Stroll brought his Williams in for service on lap 23, and eighth when Charles Leclerc wheeled his Sauber into the pits on lap 24.
Grosjean set his sights on the seventh-place Force India of Sergio Perez, and by lap 30, was just 1.3 seconds behind. And while Grosjean couldn't close the gap any further, it became a moot point when an accident between Red Bull teammates Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo on lap 40 gifted sixth place to Grosjean. This incident also brought Magnussen to 11th.
The safety car appeared for a second time, and both Haas F1 Team drivers took advantage of the opportunity, darting into the pits with each pilot getting a new set of Purple ultrasofts that would take them to the finish. Shod on the softest and grippiest tire available to teams at Baku, Grosjean and Magnussen were poised to not just hold on to their positions, but improve them.
As Grosjean worked to build heat into his ultrasofts by weaving back-and-forth while under the safety car, his Haas VF-18 broke loose, pitching Grosjean into the outside wall. Grosjean was unhurt, but his racecar was not. Fifteenth would be his finishing position.
With Grosjean out of the race, Magnussen moved up to 10th, providing the chance for Haas F1 Team to still come away with points. But when the race returned to green on lap 48, Magnussen tangled with the Toro Rosso of Pierre Gasly, dropping him to 14th. Magnussen picked up 13th on the third-to-last lap when race leader Valtteri Bottas suffered a flat right-rear tire on his Mercedes, ending his race and what would've been his first win of the season and his first since last year's season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Four rounds into the 21-race Formula One schedule, Haas F1 Team is eighth in the constructors' standings with 11 points, just two points behind seventh-place Toro Rosso and one point ahead of ninth-place Sauber.
Guenther Steiner: "A very disappointing finish to the weekend. There's nothing more to say."
Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne threaded their way through the carnage on the streets of Baku to claim seventh and ninth places respectively in today's action-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix. For both drivers, this afternoon really was a case of making something from nothing.
Fernando drove back into contention after being forced to pit at the end of lap one to change two punctured tyres, caused by banging wheels with another car along one of the straights.
Stoffel, too, looked to have dropped out of contention, having to make an unplanned second pit-stop on lap 25 after flat-spotting a tyre at Turn Three. However, he made an inspired late-race call to fit fresher rubber while behind the Safety Car, allowing him to quickly vault the cars ahead of him and claim another points finish.
Due to another steadfast performance from the team, McLaren remains fourth in the constructors' championship, with 36 points.
Eric Boullier: "To bring both cars home in the points today was a pleasant surprise after a relatively tricky weekend in Baku. It's really worth crediting the teamwork of our strategists, engineers and mechanics, who ensured we were well positioned to benefit from what's always a tough and demanding race.
"But I also want to highlight the efforts of our drivers today: after a hefty knock on the first lap, which was so heavy it punctured two right-hand tyres and broke part of the floor, Fernando drove with relentless focus and intensity, fighting until the last to bring his car home seventh.
"Stoffel didn't feel particularly comfortable on the Option tyre, and cannily realised that he, along with those drivers immediately around him, was struggling with warm-up issues while behind the late-race Safety Car. It was a good team decision to box for a fresher, hotter set of Options, a gamble that enabled him to quickly pass a cluster of cars ahead and earn another points finish.
"It's races like these where you earn your mettle, and, while we still have work to do to close the gap to the front, it's rewarding that we head home with more well-earned world championship points."
It was a fantastic Grand Prix for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team at the Baku City Circuit. In an eventful and hectic race with difficult track and weather conditions, today's target was to finish the race, scoring the best possible results and both Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson did a very good job. The Monegasque rookie finished the fourth race of his debut season in sixth place, scoring eight points for the team. Starting in P13 with a one-stop race strategy, he put in a strong and consistent performance, and steadily made his way to the front of the midfield.
Marcus Ericsson successfully advanced to P11 and was able to save a difficult race that was compromised by his involvement in an early incident that resulted in him pitting and changing strategy. The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team now holds a total of ten points in this season's Constructor's Championship, placing the team in ninth place. Charles Leclerc is in thirteenth with Marcus Ericsson in sixteenth in the Drivers' Championship.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "We are very pleased with the job that we have done this whole weekend starting from Friday and then a good qualifying session. Charles scored his first points in Formula 1 today, finishing in P6. He had a strong pace and did a consistent job. It was a huge step for him to make and he can be proud of what he has achieved. Marcus put up a good fight. He was involved in an incident at the beginning of the race, which set him back and made it tough for him, however, he managed to recover and catch up with the midfield. He finally finished in P11 and was very close to scoring points. It is a great achievement for the team, not only for the points but also for the pace shown especially in the first stint. Now we have to stay focused in order to continue this good work."
As expected, the appearance of the safety car had a decisive impact on the outcome of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. This prompted all the frontrunners to switch to the ultrasoft for the final few laps and fell conveniently within the pit-stop window for Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, who had been leading the race at the time - on his original set of supersoft starting tyres. After the re-start, Bottas punctured due to on-track debris, with his team mate Lewis Hamilton going on to win: having changed tyres twice.
Most drivers chose the supersoft to begin the race, but all three compounds were seen at the start, with many drivers also using all three during the race. In total, there were six different combinations of tyre strategy seen in the top 10 at the finish, with two safety car periods affecting the race. These had the effect of limiting tyre wear and degradation on the second-longest track of the year.
Mario Isola: "There were a number of different strategy combinations at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and it was interesting to see all three compounds used extensively during the race, with varying strategies for each driver. The safety car's intervention had a strong influence on the race outcome, but Bottas also managed an extremely long stint on the supersoft tyres before the win went to his team mate Hamilton, who capitalised on every opportunity and again used all three compounds. With the cool conditions, long straight, and yellow flag plus safety car interruptions, maintaining tyre temperature was a challenge, particularly at the re-starts."
