Hamilton says pressure a problem for Vettel

It loosened the head-rest of Hamilton’s auto so severely that he was ordered to pit on safety grounds for repairs – and caused Vettel to lose his front wing and his temper by pulling alongside Hamilton and then turning into him.

The fight between the pair so far had been fierce but amicable.

That all changed in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. “[He] slowed to bunch the cars up and give himself an advantage at the restart, as he is entitled to do”, reports Rebecca Clancy of The Times. Hamilton, in the lead, slowed the field down in readiness for the restart.

Vettel steered his Ferrari into fourth, just ahead of Hamilton’s Mercedes. But then he pulled alongside and, waving his hand at Hamilton, swerved into the Briton. Vettel has four of those titles, while Hamilton has three.

The pivotal moment of the race in what could prove to be the pivotal moment of this year’s championship battle occurred on lap 20.

“We all feel that pain but it’s on me to gather my thoughts and try and lead the team through this adversity”. I need some time to reflect on it all, but I think ultimately what happened was disrespectful.

It comes eight months after Vettel was involved in another unprecedented controversy when he launched an expletive-ridden tirade against FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting as he finished the Mexican Grand Prix over an incident involving Max Verstappen.

Vettel twice made contact with Hamilton during the restart process from a safety vehicle period during the Grand Prix. Vettel got a 10 second penalty for the infraction, but Hamilton lost ground by having to pit.

But what exactly went through his mind he wasn’t telling.

Hamilton was not penalised. It looked as though he’d done enough, but on the looooong run down to the finish line the Mercedes driver got enough of a run to pip him at the finish line by just a tenth of a second. I don’t run into the back of him on objective. “After the incident, we were side by side, I raised my hand and showed him that I wasn’t happy with that”.

“With the penalty points he received after the race, the stewards clearly had footage that the driver turned into Hamilton”, Jordan told BBC Radio 5 live.

After 5 laps under the safety vehicle, the race was red flagged to give marshals enough time to get the track ready for racing. Valtteri Bottas drove his Mercedes to second place right at the last possible moment heading into the chequered flag, ahead of Lance Stroll’s Williams auto and behind the race victor, Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.

The Australian secured his fifth career win, while Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas overtook 18-year-old Canadian Lance Stroll’s Williams in the closing meters to take second place. The triple champion was comfortably leading an already eventful race when the headrest material worked loose, forcing him to pit for safety reasons and dropping him out of the podium places. Baku on Sunday served up arguably the most exciting race of the season.