Overview I

Nico Rosberg dominated the European Grand Prix, and the inaugural Formula 1 event in Baku, Azerbaijan finishing nearly 17 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, with teammate and rival Lewis Hamilton finishing fifth (up from tenth on the grid) despite both Mercedes suffering from an ERS problems. The German led every lap from pole position and captured his fifth victory of the season and first since Russia, leaving him 24 points clear of Hamilton in the drivers’ standings.

Following the widespread suspension-breaking yellow-flag-fest during FP1-2-3 as well as Lewis Hamilton’s qualifying red flag faux pas, the teams had cautioned their drivers to consider dialing their aggression back on Sunday. Further, the unbridled carnage at the start of the Saturday’s Baku GP2 race had race engineers predicting multiple safety cars in Sunday’s Grand Prix; some even predicted one or two red flags.

Everyone braced for the worst as the lights went out, but the Baku field surged forward more like choirboys than pirates. With their lightning launch at the start in Canada last weekend, most observers believed that Vettel and Raikkonen would lead both pole sitter Rosberg and second qualifier Daniel Ricciardo into Turn 1. However, it was the Ferrari duo who bogged down as Rosberg grabbed control off the line, taking a clear lead over Ricciardo’s Red Bull.