Overview II

Behind him, the choirboys tiptoed through; their group-think being they would stay out of trouble in the first couple of laps and then grow more adventurous after the sure-to-come safety cars and red flags.

What they didn’t know was the unthinkable was about to happen; Baku’s European debut would be a 51-lap yellow flag-safety car-red flag-free Grand Prix. The 1.2-mile long main straight had spread out the field; there would barely be any damaged carbon-fibre strewed on the track and only four non-finishers. Despite their fearsome top speeds of 235mph, in Baku this 2016 Grand Prix field behaved more like owner-drivers at a historic car reunion.

Rosberg used the field’s caution and his chassis’ sheer pace in the clear air to pad the gap to seven seconds by lap five. He never looked back.

Right on Ricciardo’s heels in the early laps, Vettel noticed the Red Bull’s tires were graining excessively; he made his move before the tires had a chance to regain their grip, blasting past Ricciardo in Turn 1 on lap six.