RED Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo profited from the chaos to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix yesterday, while Sebastian Vettel extended his championship lead over Lewis Hamilton.
Vettel's assertion that Hamilton had "brake-tested" him, by slowing so suddenly that the Ferrari ran into the back of the Mercedes, was also undermined by the evidence.
The battle lines were drawn the moment Vettel went into the back of Hamilton's Mercedes during the second of three safety auto periods, the German shaking his fists and pulling alongside to bang wheels in a gesture that looked a lot like "road rage".
Valtteri Bottas snatched second place from Williams' Lance Stroll in the final straight, as Vettel finished fourth ahead of Hamilton to extend his championship lead to 14 points.
Vettel believed Hamilton had "brake-tested" him - when a driver slams on the brakes to test his opponent's reactions - and was unapologetic for his move even though race data showed this not to be the case.
"Driving alongside and deliberately driving into a driver and getting away scot free pretty much, he still came away fourth, I think that's disgrace, he disgraced himself today to be honest".
"So I'd like to speak to him personally and hear what he says about the incident rather than making a judgement without properly having heard his statement". I want to kill it the next 12 races to go.
"Imagine all the young kids that are watching Formula One today and see that kind of behavior from a four-time world champion".
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The flashpoint came as Hamilton bunched the pack up ahead of a safety auto restart which caught Vettel out and saw him run into the back of the Mercedes.
"Vettel is a decent guy", Mercedes' non-executive chairman told reporters after the race. I want to win this championship the right way. "I don't think there's much to sort out".
"The German's anger got the better of him and he reacted by driving alongside his title rival, gesturing with his left hand and veering into the side of Hamilton's vehicle". I'm extremely happy today. He was obviously sleeping and drove into the back of me. It's unsafe driving and to get a 10-second penalty for that. In the end, we're racing as men.
"Black flag!" wrote one Twitter user.
"As a team we can only look at that as a positive for us", Hamilton said.
Hamilton, who had dominated after a strong start from his 66th pole position, was also undone by a loose headrest that caused him to be ordered to pit for repairs, for safety reasons.
"If he wants to prove that he's a man, I think he should do it out of the vehicle face to face. We had the upper hand this weekend, we can move forwards in the future, I think through hard times true colours show, so a good day for me".
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