F1 News, Reports and Race Results

F1i's Top 5 Moments of 2017: The many battles of Baku

Our look back at five of the defining moments telling the story of the 2017 Formula 1 world championship reaches the thrills and spills of an amazingly action-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku...

Street races rarely provide the best examples of racing, but this year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix surely has few equals when it comes to excitement, drama and controversy.

The key moment was without doubt the clash between championship contenders Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. It happened as the pair led the race behind a safety car on lap 20. Vettel felt that Hamilton had 'brake tested' him and retaliated by pulling alongside and banging wheels. Vettel was penalised but still finished ahead of Hamilton, who had to pit with a loose headrest.

Vettel continued to rage about Hamilton after the race, even though FIA telemetry proved there had been no 'brake test'. He refused to even acknowledge his own retaliation until the FIA started muttering about a one race ban. He later described this as his low-point of the 2017 season - although even then he didn't sound particularly contrite about the incident.

Read on: Ricciardo and Stroll swoop as team mates fall out

Page: 1 2

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Gasly held off Verstappen at Suzuka with ‘best car of my career’

The sparks were flying at Suzuka – and right in the thick of it, Pierre…

8 hours ago

Vowles calls Suzuka ‘painful’ – draws ‘line in the sand’ for Williams

The mood around Williams Racing has taken a distinctly ominous turn, as James Vowles confronts…

9 hours ago

Ferrari’s ‘good weekend’ at Suzuka blunted by key SF-26 deficit

Last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix delivered another trophy for Ferrari’s cabinet, but team boss Fred…

10 hours ago

A milestone 15th career win for Hill in Brazil

On this day in 1996, Damon Hill took the checkered flag at the Brazilian Grand…

12 hours ago

Colapinto's management hits back after Bearman's Suzuka crash

Franco Colapinto’s management team stepped in after last Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix to defend the…

13 hours ago

Krack: First race finish for Aston Martin ‘no reason to celebrate’

An Aston Martin car finally crossed the finish in 2026, with Fernando Alonso completing the…

14 hours ago