2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

The 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix delivered another dramatic afternoon on the Baku City Circuit, with Lewis Hamilton inheriting victory after Valtteri Bottas suffered a late puncture. A collision between the Red Bull Racing drivers changed the race, while Sergio Perez returned Force India to the podium.

Pole position
Driver	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Time	1:41.498
Fastest lap
Driver	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Time	1:45.149 on lap 37
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
Third	Sergio Perez	Force India

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
27 April 2018	Practice 1	13:00 – 14:30
27 April 2018	Practice 2	17:00 – 18:30
28 April 2018	Practice 3	14:00 – 15:00
28 April 2018	Qualifying	17:00 – 18:00
29 April 2018	Race	16:10

All times are local (UTC+04:00). The race time is the scheduled start.

Championship background

Sebastian Vettel held a nine-point lead over Lewis Hamilton, but Daniel Ricciardo‘s victory in China had added another contender to the fight at the front. Baku’s long straights and narrow corners offered ample scope for the order to change.

Race entries

The regular 20 drivers took part. The event moved to April for 2018, and windy conditions added to the difficulty of a circuit already demanding precision between the barriers.

Free Practice

Valtteri Bottas led FP1 in 1:44.242, narrowly ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, with Sergio Perez third. Max Verstappen hit the barriers during the opening session.

Ricciardo topped FP2 with a 1:42.795, followed by Kimi Räikkönen and Verstappen. Red Bull Racing appeared well placed to challenge Ferrari and Mercedes.

Sebastian Vettel moved ahead in FP3 with a 1:43.091, beating Lewis Hamilton and Räikkönen. The improving track set the stage for another close qualifying contest.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP1, 27 April 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:44.242	26
2	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.035s	24
3	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+0.833s	26
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.958s	24
5	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	+0.995s	29
6	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+1.317s	11
7	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.223s	25
8	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+2.238s	28
9	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+2.250s	18
10	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+2.271s	18
11	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+2.348s	26
12	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+2.505s	32
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+2.507s	11
14	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.614s	23
15	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+2.619s	10
16	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+2.633s	21
17	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.831s	21
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+3.192s	18
19	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+3.725s	21
20	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+4.499s	11

Free Practice 2 Classification

2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP2, 27 April 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:42.795	35
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.069s	33
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.116s	27
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.775s	25
5	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.808s	31
6	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+0.905s	34
7	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	+1.019s	30
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.039s	36
9	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.182s	29
10	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.296s	33
11	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.332s	38
12	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.347s	31
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.630s	27
14	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+1.664s	31
15	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1.917s	39
16	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+2.145s	30
17	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+2.212s	33
18	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+2.256s	36
19	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.493s	29
20	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+3.247s	9

Free Practice 3 Classification

2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP3, 28 April 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:43.091	17
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.361s	16
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.402s	17
4	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.428s	17
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.478s	20
6	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+0.845s	9
7	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+0.867s	11
8	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+1.032s	8
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	+1.129s	11
10	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+1.443s	9
11	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.672s	12
12	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.770s	17
13	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+1.814s	16
14	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+2.127s	15
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.170s	12
16	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+2.341s	15
17	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+2.365s	11
18	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.414s	13
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.819s	17
20	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+3.095s	11

Qualifying

Sebastian Vettel claimed pole with a 1:41.498, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen occupied the next two positions, while a mistake on his final run left Kimi Räikkönen sixth.

Nico Hülkenberg carried a gearbox penalty. Brendon Hartley and Romain Grosjean required permission to race after failing to meet the Q1 107% requirement, with Grosjean also taking a gearbox penalty.

Qualifying Classification

2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Qualifying, 28 April 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:42.762	1:43.015	1:41.498	19
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:42.693	1:42.676	1:41.677	21
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:43.355	1:42.679	1:41.837	21
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:42.857	1:43.482	1:41.911	20
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:42.642	1:42.901	1:41.994	19
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:42.538	1:42.510	1:42.490	20
7	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:43.021	1:42.967	1:42.523	20
8	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:43.992	1:43.366	1:42.547	20
9	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:43.746	1:43.232	1:43.066	20
10	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	1:43.426	1:43.464	1:43.351	20
11	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:44.359	1:43.585	—	16
12	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1:44.261	1:43.886	—	17
13	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:44.010	1:44.019	—	16
14	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:43.752	1:44.074	—	17
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:43.674	1:44.759	—	14
16	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:44.489	—	—	8
17	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:44.496	—	—	9
18	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:45.541	—	—	10
—	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1:57.354	—	—	5
—	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	No time	—	—	2

Nico Hülkenberg received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.

Brendon Hartley and Romain Grosjean failed to set a Q1 time within the 107% requirement and raced at the stewards’ discretion. Grosjean also received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.

What happened in the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix?

Sebastian Vettel led from the start, but trouble behind him brought an immediate safety car. Esteban Ocon and Sergey Sirotkin retired, Kimi Räikkönen needed repairs and Fernando Alonso brought his McLaren back with two punctures before beginning an unlikely recovery.

Vettel controlled the early running while Lewis Hamilton stopped before him. Valtteri Bottas extended his first stint, keeping open the possibility of gaining from an interruption. Behind them, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen repeatedly battled over position.

Their contest ended in disaster when Ricciardo hit the rear of Verstappen under braking for Turn 1. Both cars retired, bringing out another safety car. Bottas could now stop and retain the lead, while Romain Grosjean crashed as he warmed his tyres behind the safety car.

At the restart, Vettel attacked Bottas but locked up and ran wide, losing several places. Bottas appeared set to win until debris punctured his right-rear tyre with only a few laps remaining. Hamilton inherited the lead and kept it to the finish.

Räikkönen recovered to second, with Perez taking third after passing Vettel. Carlos Sainz finished fifth and Charles Leclerc sixth, scoring his first Formula One points. Alonso’s recovery earned seventh, ahead of Lance Stroll and Stoffel Vandoorne.

Brendon Hartley completed the top ten to open his own points account. Hamilton’s first win of the season put him four points ahead of Vettel, but his celebration was tempered by sympathy for Bottas after an otherwise excellent drive.

2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix race results

The 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was held on 29 April 2018, with a scheduled start of 16:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	51	1:43:44.291	25
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	51	+2.460s	18
3	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	51	+4.024s	15
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	51	+5.329s	12
5	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	51	+7.515s	10
6	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	51	+9.158s	8
7	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	51	+10.931s	6
8	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	51	+12.546s	4
9	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	51	+14.152s	2
10	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	51	+18.030s	1
11	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	51	+18.512s	0
12	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	51	+24.720s	0
13	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	51	+40.663s	0
14	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	48	Puncture	0
Ret	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	42	Accident	0
Ret	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	39	Collision	0
Ret	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	39	Collision	0
Ret	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	10	Accident	0
Ret	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India	0	Collision	0
Ret	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	0	Collision	0

Kevin Magnussen had ten seconds added to his race time for causing an avoidable collision. His finishing position was unchanged.

Valtteri Bottas did not finish the race but was classified as he completed 90% of the winner’s race distance.

2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	37	17:24:41	1:45.149	205.525
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	35	17:21:29	1:45.412	205.012
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	34	17:19:47	1:45.419	204.999
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	38	17:26:39	1:45.530	204.783
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	31	17:14:28	1:45.771	204.316
6	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	51	17:57:30	1:46.206	203.480
7	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	50	17:55:42	1:46.523	202.874
8	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	50	17:55:49	1:46.815	202.319
9	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	50	17:55:46	1:46.856	202.242
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	34	17:20:21	1:46.880	202.196
11	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	31	17:15:12	1:47.403	201.212
12	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	32	17:17:09	1:47.449	201.126
13	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	50	17:55:52	1:47.666	200.720
14	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	51	17:57:45	1:47.925	200.239
15	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	38	17:28:45	1:48.035	200.035
16	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	35	17:23:03	1:48.155	199.813
17	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	51	17:57:44	1:48.288	199.567
18	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	10	16:36:51	1:48.867	198.506

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear in this table. Time of Day is local time; average speeds are in km/h. No championship point was awarded for fastest lap in 2018.

2018 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

2018 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	70
2	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	66
3	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Ferrari	48
4	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	40
5	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Red Bull Racing	37
6	Fernando Alonso	ESP	McLaren	28
7	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Renault	22
8	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	18
9	Sergio Perez	MEX	Force India	15
10	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Renault	13
11	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Toro Rosso	12
12	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	11
13	Charles Leclerc	MON	Sauber	8
14	Stoffel Vandoorne	BEL	McLaren	8
15	Lance Stroll	CAN	Williams	4
16	Marcus Ericsson	SWE	Sauber	2
17	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Force India	1
18	Brendon Hartley	NZL	Toro Rosso	1
19	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	0
20	Sergey Sirotkin	RUS	Williams	0

2018 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	114
2	Mercedes	110
3	Red Bull Racing	55
4	McLaren	36
5	Renault	35
6	Force India	16
7	Toro Rosso	13
8	Haas	11
9	Sauber	10
10	Williams	4

2018 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2018 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	25 March
2	2018 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	8 April
3	2018 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	15 April
4	2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	29 April
5	2018 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	13 May
6	2018 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May
7	2018 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	10 June
8	2018 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	24 June
9	2018 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	1 July
10	2018 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	8 July
11	2018 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	22 July
12	2018 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	29 July
13	2018 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	26 August
14	2018 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza	2 September
15	2018 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	16 September
16	2018 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	30 September
17	2018 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	7 October
18	2018 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	21 October
19	2018 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	28 October
20	2018 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	11 November
21	2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	25 November