Not world champion Lewis Hamilton, but his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It was the second victory of the season for the Finn, who takes the lead in front of Hamilton in the World Championship classification. The Briton finished second in Baku.
By contrast, the Ferrari drivers are still waiting for a victory after the fourth Grand Prix of the year. For Sebastian Vettel it was enough again for third place. Charles Leclerc drove after his accident in qualifying from eighth starting position to fifth place. Max Verstappen finished fourth in the Red Bull.
FINAL CLASSIFICATION: Round 4, Azerbaijan
Bottas wins and takes the drivers' championship lead # F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/ZS4JTzooLc
Bottas had been the fastest in qualifying and therefore started the race from pole position. Right after the start he was able to fend off two Hamilton attacks and defend the first place. That was already the preliminary decision.
There were few overtaking maneuvers on the narrow street circuit. But the race was characterized by tactical considerations of the teams. Unlike Bottas, Hamilton and Vettel, who changed tires early on, Leclerc remained on the track for a long time and only came in for the first and only time in the 35th of 51 laps. Through the strategy, the young Monegasse took over the lead in the meantime, but fell back after his pit stop.
Unlike the previous year, when the Red Bulls shot each other off the track and Bottas had lost the lead with a puncture shortly before the end of the race, there were no serious accidents during the race, so the safety car did not have to move out.
For Mercedes it was the fourth double victory in the fourth race of the season. Bottas landed twice on the top of the podium, twice Hamilton. The Finn is in first place in the championship ranking because he secured an extra point for the fastest race lap at the Australian Grand Prix. In Baku Leclerc drove the fastest lap and picked up the bonus point for the second time this year.