Nico Rosberg returned to winning ways in dominant fashion after leading every lap of the inaugural European Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit.
After Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton crashed in the final part of qualifying, Rosberg had no realistic competition going into Sunday’s race, which ultimately turned out to be the case as he dominated from the front eventually winning by 16.6 seconds.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Force India’s Sergio Perez joined Rosberg on the podium after the Mexican passed Kimi Raikkonen on the final lap, however, it wouldn’t have mattered as the Ferrari driver was awarded a five-second penalty for cutting the pit entry line.
Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton came home fifth after starting 10th. Hamilton suffered an engine issue during the race and was unable to make his way past Perez and the Ferraris – eventually settling for fifth and 10 points.
Valtteri Bottas finished ahead of both Red Bulls after opting for a one-stop strategy. Felipe Massa rounded out the points positions after his two-stop strategy did not work out.
After the chaos which ensued in the GP2 Series races, the Formula One race was quite uneventful.
Both Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz were forced to retire from the race due to a suspension issue whilst Manor’s Pascal Wehrlein retired due to a brake issue.
