Daniel Ricciardo claimed his and Red Bull’s first victory of the season in an action-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which featured a bizarre clash between title rivals Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton behind the Safety Car, as a recovering Valtteri Bottas stole second from rookie Lance Stroll on the run to the chequered flag.
Ricciardo, who started 10th, after crashing in qualifying, profited from a Safety Car-filled race at the Baku City Circuit, gaining ground as rivals hit trouble.
All four of the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers got caught up in drama, while several Safety Car periods and a red flag turned the usual pecking order on its head.
Ricciardo, who pulled off a supreme double overtake at the final restart, laughed over the radio at his surprise win, to which his engineer replied “I know, mate”.
Bottas, after clashing with Kimi Räikkönen on the first lap, completed a fine recovery to second when he passed Stroll, with DRS, just metres from the finish line.
Stroll nonetheless took third, becoming the first Canadian to finish on the podium since Jacques Villeneuve in 2001, adding to his first points finish last time out.
Vettel and Hamilton, meanwhile, came home only fourth and fifth, with Vettel increasing his lead in the championship standings, following their controversial incident.
Hamilton had controlled the early stages, ahead of Vettel, following the Bottas/Räikkönen incident, but the pair came together behind the Safety Car, just before a restart.
Vettel felt that Hamilton brake tested him, as the race leader bunched the pack up, with minor contact made, prompting Vettel to pull alongside and bang wheels with Hamilton.
After a red flag, thrown for debris on track, Vettel was given an in-race penalty for his actions, while Hamilton’s hopes of victory were dashed by a loose headrest.
As the lights went out, drama ensued from Turn 1, where Carlos Sainz Jr. spun, before Bottas tagged Räikkönen at Turn 2, picking up a puncture and damaging the side of the Ferrari.
Hamilton led from Vettel and the pair gradually edged away from the field over following laps, before Daniil Kvyat sparked the first of a trio of Safety Cars, when he ground to a halt.
Hamilton, having been warned about getting too close to the Safety Car at the first restart, duly created more of a gap before the second restart, with that stoppage due to debris on track.
However, as Hamilton backed the pack up, Vettel ran into his slow-moving car at Turn 15, causing minor damage, and prompting the Ferrari driver to take a swipe at the Mercedes on the exit.
A piece of Vettel’s front wing flew off moments later, before Force India pair Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon collided at Turn 2, which led to another Safety Car, and then a red flag.
As the race restarted, after a clear-up operation, Hamilton continued to lead from Vettel, but both drivers would soon drop down the order.
Hamilton’s headreast came loose as he got up to speed, forcing him to pit for a replacement, while Vettel was hit with a 10-second stop/go penalty for hitting Hamilton.
Ricciardo, having dived passed Williams pair Stroll and Felipe Massa at the restart, thus moved into the lead, from the 18-year-old rookie and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.
Ricciardo maintained a lead of around five seconds as the laps ticked by, while Stroll soaked up the pressure to maintain second, showing no sign of nerves.
Magnussen’s hopes of a podium were soon over, as faster rivals cleared his car, Bottas ultimately emerging in third, before going on to close in on Stroll.
Despite Stroll’s best efforts, including a string of personal best times, Bottas crucially got into DRS range on the final lap and edged past on the long run to the start/finish line.
Behind Vettel and Hamilton, who were separated by just a couple of tenths, Ocon salvaged sixth for Force India, with Magnussen having to settle for seventh.
Sainz Jr. recovered from a grid penalty, and his first-lap spin, a result of “madman” team-mate Kvyat rejoining the track aggressively, to take eighth.
Fernando Alonso scored McLaren-Honda’s first points of the season in ninth, as Pascal Wehrlein beat Marcus Ericsson in an intra-team Sauber battle for 10th.
Daniel Ricciardo claimed his and Red Bull's first victory of the season in an action-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which featured a bizarre clash between title rivals Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton behind the Safety Car, as a recovering Valtteri Bottas stole second from rookie Lance Stroll on the run to the chequered flag.
Ricciardo, who started 10th, after crashing in qualifying, profited from a Safety Car-filled race at the Baku City Circuit, gaining ground as rivals hit trouble.
All four of the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers got caught up in drama, while several Safety Car periods and a red flag turned the usual pecking order on its head.
Ricciardo, who pulled off a supreme double overtake at the final restart, laughed over the radio at his surprise win, to which his engineer replied "I know, mate".
Bottas, after clashing with Kimi Räikkönen on the first lap, completed a fine recovery to second when he passed Stroll, with DRS, just metres from the finish line.
Stroll nonetheless took third, becoming the first Canadian to finish on the podium since Jacques Villeneuve in 2001, adding to his first points finish last time out.
Vettel and Hamilton, meanwhile, came home only fourth and fifth, with Vettel increasing his lead in the championship standings, following their controversial incident.
Hamilton had controlled the early stages, ahead of Vettel, following the Bottas/Räikkönen incident, but the pair came together behind the Safety Car, just before a restart.
Vettel felt that Hamilton brake tested him, as the race leader bunched the pack up, with minor contact made, prompting Vettel to pull alongside and bang wheels with Hamilton.
After a red flag, thrown for debris on track, Vettel was given an in-race penalty for his actions, while Hamilton's hopes of victory were dashed by a loose headrest.
As the lights went out, drama ensued from Turn 1, where Carlos Sainz Jr. spun, before Bottas tagged Räikkönen at Turn 2, picking up a puncture and damaging the side of the Ferrari.
Hamilton led from Vettel and the pair gradually edged away from the field over following laps, before Daniil Kvyat sparked the first of a trio of Safety Cars, when he ground to a halt.
Hamilton, having been warned about getting too close to the Safety Car at the first restart, duly created more of a gap before the second restart, with that stoppage due to debris on track.
However, as Hamilton backed the pack up, Vettel ran into his slow-moving car at Turn 15, causing minor damage, and prompting the Ferrari driver to take a swipe at the Mercedes on the exit.
A piece of Vettel's front wing flew off moments later, before Force India pair Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon collided at Turn 2, which led to another Safety Car, and then a red flag.
As the race restarted, after a clear-up operation, Hamilton continued to lead from Vettel, but both drivers would soon drop down the order.
Hamilton's headreast came loose as he got up to speed, forcing him to pit for a replacement, while Vettel was hit with a 10-second stop/go penalty for hitting Hamilton.
Ricciardo, having dived passed Williams pair Stroll and Felipe Massa at the restart, thus moved into the lead, from the 18-year-old rookie and Haas' Kevin Magnussen.
Ricciardo maintained a lead of around five seconds as the laps ticked by, while Stroll soaked up the pressure to maintain second, showing no sign of nerves.
Magnussen's hopes of a podium were soon over, as faster rivals cleared his car, Bottas ultimately emerging in third, before going on to close in on Stroll.
Despite Stroll's best efforts, including a string of personal best times, Bottas crucially got into DRS range on the final lap and edged past on the long run to the start/finish line.
Behind Vettel and Hamilton, who were separated by just a couple of tenths, Ocon salvaged sixth for Force India, with Magnussen having to settle for seventh.
Sainz Jr. recovered from a grid penalty, and his first-lap spin, a result of "madman" team-mate Kvyat rejoining the track aggressively, to take eighth.
Fernando Alonso scored McLaren-Honda's first points of the season in ninth, as Pascal Wehrlein beat Marcus Ericsson in an intra-team Sauber battle for 10th.
