The 2017 title race was bubbling away nicely under the surface, until one moment at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix set the whole thing alight.
Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton were the two early-season front runners for the Formula 1 crown that year, and their rivalry really took off in Baku. They were both left pointing the finger at each other when Vettel hit into the back of Hamilton while they were trundling around behind a safety car.
It caused damage to both cars, as the Ferrari was left with a broken front wing while the rear diffuser on the Mercedes had also been affected. They had been first and second at the time, but by the end of the race it was Daniel Ricciardo in his Red Bull who took advantage of the chaos to win.
Vettel later claimed he had been brake-tested by Hamilton, but telemetry data later proved that the Briton had never touched his brake pedal. Meanwhile, the German was labelled "a disgrace" by his rival, who had finished a place behind in fifth and lost ground in the title race.
What made this collision more shocking than most was that TV replays showed that Vettel had made contact on purpose. If the first was an accident, then the second – when he pulled his Ferrari alongside to make a gesture with his hand before turning to bang the wheels of the two cars together – certainly wasn't.
"F1 is for grown-ups," Vettel later declared, as he defended his actions. "I drove alongside and we had a little contact. I wasn't happy with the brake-testing. I drove alongside him and raised my hand to say that is not the way to do it."
Hamilton, meanwhile, was so furious that he suggested he and his rival should settle the matter "face-to-face". He said: "He was obviously sleeping and driving alongside and deliberately driving into a driver and coming away scot-free is a disgrace. He disgraced himself.
"If he wants to prove he's a man, we should do it out of the car face-to-face. Driving dangerously in any way can put another driver at risk. Luckily we were going slow. If we were going fast it could have been a lot worse. Imagine all the kids watching Formula 1 today and seeing that kind of behaviour from a four-time world champion."
While Vettel got more points on the day, it was of course Hamilton who had the last laugh by winning the title that season – the fourth of his career and his third in four years. Both drivers now have a lot of mutual respect for each other as veterans of the grid, and are leaders among drivers for using their platforms to highlight human rights issues.
Stroll achieves his goal
Of all those who could have stood on podium that day, Lance Stroll would have been fairly low down on the list. But the 18-year-old did it, achieving that feat in his Williams for the first time in what was only the eighth race of his fledgling F1 career.
He took advantage of the chaos to be part of the group that broke away at the front around halfway through the race, and came within metres of finishing second behind Ricciardo. In the end, he was pipped to the line by Valtteri Bottas, in his first season with Mercedes, but was still "lost for words" after an incredible result.
"The team kept me cool and I kept my cool, but I knew how close [Bottas] was and with two laps to go I saw him in my mirrors," said the young Canadian. "I knew it was going to be tricky, but I thought I had him going into the final straight... but he was just a bit too quick with the DRS. I think that's probably one of the closest finishes of all time.
"P3 is amazing though; a dream come true. You dream of being on an F1 podium growing up, work towards it your whole life... and then you feel the moment. What a race. I think it’s going to sink in tomorrow morning..."
Stroll has yet to better that result, though he has finished third twice more since – both in the 2020 season, which remains he best to date in terms of finishing position (11th) and points total (75). Since 2019 he has been with the team owned by his billionaire father Lawrence Stroll, though Aston Martin are struggling for performance and results so far this season.
Other major moments at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- Finns fly into each other – Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen collidd on the first lap, but while the former escaped with just a puncture, the Ferrari man suffered an oil leak later in the race which saw him fall short of finishing by a few laps.
- Force India fall apart – Team-mate Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon were on track for points, but dramatically collided on lap 20. Ocon fell to the back of the field but managed to recover to finish sixth, though a damaged wishbone caused his Mexican partner to later retire from the race.
- Massa's mess – On another day it might have been the other WIlliams driver on the podium, but the Brazilian was hit by rotten luck. He began to suffer and issue which made his front suspension unstable, which caused him to fall from third all the way to the back of the pack, before eventually choosing to call it a day.
This year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place on Sunday, with the first practice sessions getting under way from today. Qualifying begins on Saturday from 2pm UK time, while the race starts at the unusually earlier time of midday.
