Azerbaijan GP: Ricciardo wins, Hamilton and Vettel clash

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo claimed a shock victory in a chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix – a race that also featured a clash between title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.

The wild race on the tight Baku street circuit featured multiple safety car periods and a red flag due to a string of incidents. It was during one of the safety car periods that Hamilton and Vettel clashed.

Hamilton was leading at slow speed when Vettel’s Ferrari ran into the back of his Mercedes. Vettel pulled alongside to remonstrate with Hamilton, and in doing so steered into the side of Hamilton’s car.

Both cars were able to continue, but Vettel was handed a 10sec stop-go penalty for dangerous driving. However, Hamilton was also forced to pit due to a loose headrest. That handed Ricciardo, who had battled up to third from tenth on the grid, the lead. He held on for his first win of the year.

“It was crazy,” said Ricciardo. “There was so much going on, but it was fun. Once I got the lead, I knew if I kept that rhythm it was enough to win.”

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas claimed a remarkable second place, having fallen to the back following a first-lap clash with compatriot Kimi Räikkönen. In the closing stages, Bottas hunted down Lance Stroll, overtaking the Williams rookie on the run to the finish line. Stroll, 18, nevertheless called his third place finish “a dream come true”.

Vettel recovered from his penalty to finish fourth, one spot ahead of Hamilton, extending his title lead over the Brit to 14 points.

Following the race, Hamilton blasted Vettel’s actions, calling them a “disgrace”. He added: “What happened was disrespectful. There are kids watching us on TV and to see a multiple world champion… you’d think he would behave better than that.”

Vettel, who also received three points on his racing license for the incident, countered by saying Hamilton should have been penalised: “It’s just not the way to do it. I don’t think it was necessary. If I get a penalty then we should both get a penalty.”

IndyCar Series: Road America

Scott Dixon claimed the 41st IndyCar Series win of his career after overtaking Josef Newgarden on a mid-race restart at Road America in Wisconsin.

Ganassi-Honda driver Dixon used softer tyres to blast past Newgarden, eventually leading home the American by 0.5779s to score his first win of 2017 and extend his points lead.

Hélio Castroneves was third. Anglo-Emirati driver Ed Jones was seventh, while Brit Max Chilton was ninth.

Round-up

• Ferrari junior driver Charles Leclerc won the Formula 2 Feature Race at Baku – but was denied a double after being handed a 10sec post-race penalty for ignoring yellow flags in the sprint race. Norman Nato inherited the win
• Mehdi Bennani (Citroën) and Norbert Michelisz (Honda) shared the FIA World Touring Car Championship wins on the Vila Real street circuit in Portugal
• Bentley trio Andy Soucek, Maxime Soulet and Vincent Abril took victory in the Paul Ricard 1000km sports car race at the French track.