Ricciardo wins in Baku in a chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was the surprise winner in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on June 25, 2017 as chaos dominated a large part of the race. But amidst the chaos, rookie Lance Stroll of Williams took his maiden podium for his team, coming in third while Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas stood second.

 Among the big names, championship leader Sebastian Vettel beat Lewis Hamilton to fourth place. This is despite the fact that he was penalised for dangerous driving as he had hit his Mercedes rival Hamilton’s car from behind the safety car.

For the spectators, it was an afternoon of non-stop drama at the Baku City Circuit. At one stage in the race,  Ricciardo had an early pit stop to have debris cleared from his brakes which led him to drop to 17th place. When the safety car was deployed for the first time after the 13^th lap, it was Hamilton who was leading, with Vettel of Ferrari behind him. By then Daniil Kvyat had to deal with a broken Toro Rosso car.

After the race resumed, just three laps later, the two cars of Force India collided because Esteban Ocon made an aggressive Turn 2 pass on team mate Sergio Perez.  The safety car was deployed and the debris had to be cleaned. Eventually, for Force India, Esteban Ocon came in sixth in the race while his teammate Sergio Perez had to retire.

More hits and several retirements later, the race ended with Red Bull’s Ricciardo winning the race at Baku. Those who did not finish the race include Kimi Räikkönen of Ferrari, Sergio Peres of Force India, Felipe Massa of Williams, Nico Hulkenberg of Renault, Max Verstappen of Red Bull racing, Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso and Jolyon Palmer of Renault.

This race will be remembered not for this win, but for the unsavoury clash between Hamilton and Vettel.