Formula 1: 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix results – Lewis Hamilton comes out of nowhere to win
By Asher Fair
Lewis Hamilton came out of nowhere to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for his first victory of the 2018 Formula 1 season, ending his six-race win drought.
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. That was, indeed, the case for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the fourth race of the 21-race 2018 Formula 1 season.
Hamilton, who started the race in second place, won the 51-lap race around the 20-turn, 6.003-kilometer (3.73-mile) Baku City Circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan despite the fact that he did not lead until there were only three laps to go.
Valterri Bottas, Hamilton’s teammate, inherited the race lead after Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who lead the majority of the race, came into the pits. When the safety car was deployed on lap 39 as a result of the accident between the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing teammates Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, Bottas came into the pits and maintained his lead.
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This safety car period was extended as a result of the fact that Haas’ Romain Grosjean spun out and hit the wall while warming his tires on lap 43. On the restart, Vettel got a run on Bottas into turn one but locked up his tires, causing him to shoot to the lead for split-second and then drop back to fourth place. Hamilton and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen slotted into second and third place, respectively.
Coming down the front straightaway into turn one with just three laps to go, Bottas’ right rear tire sustained a puncture, causing Hamilton and the rest of the field to blow by him with only two laps to go. He held on to take the win by 2.460 seconds over Raikkonen in second place.
Bottas, meanwhile, became the seventh driver forced to retire during the race and was officially scored in 14th place.
The race featured a total of two lead changes among three different drivers. The polesitter Vettel led the first 30 laps of the race, while Bottas led next 18 laps and Hamilton led the final three laps.
Here are the full race results from the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on the streets of Baku.
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Engine |
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | #44, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Mercedes |
| 2 | Kimi Raikkonen | #7, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari |
| 3 | Sergio Perez | #11, Sahara Force India, Mercedes |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | #5, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | #55, Renault Sport, Renault |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc | #16, Alfa Romeo Sauber, Ferrari |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | #14, McLaren, Renault |
| 8 | Lance Stroll | #18, Williams Martini Racing, Mercedes |
| 9 | Stoffel Vandoorne | #2, McLaren, Renault |
| 10 | Brendon Hartley | #28, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Honda |
| 11 | Marcus Ericsson | #9, Alfa Romeo Sauber, Ferrari |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly | #10, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Honda |
| 13 | Kevin Magnussen | #20, Haas, Ferrari |
| 14 | Valtteri Bottas | #77, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Mercedes |
| 15 | Romain Grosjean | #8, Haas, Ferrari |
| 16 | Max Verstappen | #33, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, Renault |
| 17 | Daniel Ricciardo | #3, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, Renault |
| 18 | Nico Hulkenberg | #27, Renault Sport, Renault |
| 19 | Esteban Ocon | #31, Sahara Force India, Mercedes |
| 20 | Sergey Sirotkin | #35, Williams Martini Racing, Mercedes |
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Be sure to tune in to the Spanish Grand Prix, which is the next race of the 2018 Formula 1 schedule and the fifth race of the 21-race season. That race is set to take place on Sunday, May 13th at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, Barcelona, Spain, and it is set to be broadcast live on ESPN2 starting at 9:10 am ET on that date.