BOTTAS GOES TOP AFTER WINNING AZERBAIJAN FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX
Valtteri Bottas clung held on to first place at the Azerbaijan Formula 1 Grand Prix as his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, charged him down, making it a record-setting four one-two wins in a row for Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton had a dashing start from second on the grid to challenge pole-starter Valtteri Bottas into the first corner but Bottas held on to the lead from the first lap, taking the chequered flag a year after he was robbed of victory by a puncture late in the race. Hamilton hung on to second place with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel finishing third.
Max Verstappen in his Red Bull took fourth with Charles Leclerc managing to claim fifth in his Ferrari after a crash in qualifying had him start eighth on the grid.
Leclerc started the race on medium tyres and managed to take the lead during the middle of the race, only to succumb to those on a different pitting strategy, eventually finishing a minute behind Bottas even after pitting for fresh rubber. Once again, questions have been raised around Ferrari's strategy for the talented youngster, especially considering he took the honours for the fastest lap of the race.
With Bottas and Hamilton taking the top two positions of the Azerbaijan Formula 1 Grand Prix, Mercedes have become the first team to take four one-two victories in a row and, if Ferrari doesn't come up with a solution to rein them in soon, it'll be a runaway massacre for the German team.
Check out the highlights of the race here.
Race result
POS DRIVER
1 Valtteri Bottas – Mercedes
2 Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
3 Sebastian Vettel – Ferrari
4 Max Verstappen – Red Bull/Honda
5 Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
6 Sergio Perez – Racing Point/Mercedes
7 Carlos Sainz Jr. – McLaren/Renault
8 Lando Norris – McLaren/Renault
9 Lance Stroll – Racing Point/Mercedes
10 Kimi Raikkonen – Alfa Romeo/Ferrari
11 Alexander Albon – Toro Rosso/Honda
12 Antonio Giovinazzi – Alfa Romeo/Ferrari
13 Kevin Magnussen – Haas/Ferrari
14 Nico Hulkenberg – Renault
15 George Russell – Williams/Mercedes
16 Robert Kubica – Williams/Mercedes
DNF Pierre Gasly – Red Bull/Honda
DNF Romain Grosjean – Haas/Ferrari
DNF Daniil Kvyat – Toro Rosso/Honda
DNF Daniel Ricciardo – Renault