Another race, another Verstappen collision

It was on the cards all afternoon. Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were fighting hard from the start and it inevitably ended in tears…
Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen headed off to the track together. They’ll probably be taking separate cars away from the track…
The two title rivals on the front row were also getting in the zone…
No sign of any rain in Baku on race day, but the wind would prove to be a tricky factor to overcome for the drivers.
Here's a closer look at the weather conditions in store for the drivers this afternoon. #F1 #AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 pic.twitter.com/dD9NRUPZq7
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) April 29, 2018
It almost caught out the drivers on their way to the grid with Kimi Raikkonen having a close shave with the wall…
A couple of brief scares on the way to grid 👀
Ericsson slides wide, and Kimi comes close to the wall!#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/3kXADWgpfs
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2018
Erm, Christina Aguilera was loving it.
It was the usual quiet start in Baku. Kimi Raikkonen and Esteban Ocon collided, ending the latter’s race.
Sergey Sirotkin also retired on the first lap.
It's looks like Sergey was sandwiched between a McLaren and Renault with nowhere to go. SC still out. Lance now P7 after others pit #AzerbaijanGP #F1Baku
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) April 29, 2018
Fernando Alonso picked up a double puncture, Raikkonen was forced to pit with damage, as was the likes of Sergio Perez.
After the Safety Car restart, Renault took the fight to Red Bull, both Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg getting ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.
But Hulkenberg became the latest DNF victim after finding the wall at Turn 4.
Damn, damn, damn.
Nico has clipped the wall; he pulls up and that’s him out of the race. #RSspirit #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/aD0Fh3NL9m
— Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) April 29, 2018
Back out at the front, Vettel was dictating the pace and Hamilton was losing precious time by running wide at Turn 16 and a huge lock up at Turn 1.
LAP 22/51
Hamilton locks up and misses the first corner! 😬
HAM: "These tyres are done!"
The Mercedes man pits for a set of soft tyres, emerging P3#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Glyyv0dyIA
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2018
Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were trading blows in a ding-dong battle for P4.
And Ricciardo got the job done on Lap 36.
Valtteri Bottas quietly drove his way into contention, showing good pace on the old supersoft tyre and trying to make them last so he could switch to ultrasofts for the final stint.
Then the inevitable happened. At Turn 1, Verstappen performed a double move under braking and Ricciardo went flying into the back of him as a result. Another double DNF for Red Bull.
The Safety Car came back out with Bottas retaining the lead, but the SC was out longer than anticipated after Romain Grosjean lost it in the wall. Bizarrely blaming Marcus Ericsson.
‘I think Ericsson hit me’
Yup. Ericsson. pic.twitter.com/vfObY0qpWB
— Giedo van der Garde (@GvanderGarde) April 29, 2018
The Safety Car came in with just four laps to go. More than enough time for plenty of drama.
Sebastian Vettel tried a daring move on Bottas for the race lead at Lap 1, locked up and eventually fell to P4.
LAP 48/51
We go green for the mad dash to the flag!
Vettel goes for it but locks up, and drops to P4 😱#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/aBl6jjJc5n
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2018
Bottas then picked up a loose piece of debris and retired, with Lewis Hamilton taking the most unlikeliest of victories.
BOTTAS PUNCTURE!
The race leader's right-rear disintegrates and Hamilton leads!
Bottas retires when he looked on course for victory 💔
Perez passes Vettel and is on course for a podium#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/PFjVutPYU0
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2018
And an incredible podium for Sergio Perez!
BREAKING: Lewis Hamilton WINS a crazy #AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 Mercedes claim their first victory of 2018 👏 pic.twitter.com/c483fbNh84
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2018