Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas (Image: GETTY)

1:55pm: Verstappen sets the fastest lap as Leclerc remains out in front.

Raikkonen moves up to 15th Kubica now last.

Bottas, Hamilton and Vettel make up the top four.

It’s only a matter of time before the Ferrari youngster will be forced to pit – but he is holding out as long as possible.

1:41pm: Raikkonen is the first to pit and he comes out last.

Leclerc has breifly taken the lead, which was expected as he will be the last to pit.

Hamilton comes back out in third as Bottas clings onto the slender lead over his team-mate.

Gasly is up to fifth as Verstappen slips back down to sixth.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas (Image: GETTY)

1:25pm: Bottas pulls away at the front after posting the fastest lap of the race.

Leclerc is now seventh as he chases down the top three – Hamilton now has a susbstantial lead over Vettel who holds the final podium position.

Perez and Verstappen are now in an exciting battle for fourth.

Everyone has made it to lap six in what has been a fairly uneventful start to the race.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas (Image: GETTY)

1:15pm: And we are off! Bottas and Hamilton lead the pack as Vettel chases down the leaders.

Great start from Hamilton but Bottas manages to keep hold of the lead.

Vettel follows up as the drivers get off to a clean start in Baku.

Leclerc starts in eighth, Lando Norris fails to overtake Verstappen for fourth.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas (Image: GETTY)

1:05pm: Hamilton is hoping to extend his lead over team-mate Bottas at the top of the drivers’ table in Baku.

The Englishman is on course to win his sixth world title in 2019, which would take him one away from Michael Schumacher’s record.

“This is far better than we anticipated at the start of the season and something that everyone’s worked so hard for within the team,” Hamilton said.

“So we’re really proud the results we have so far. But we’re also aware that there’s a long way to go.”

 

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas (Image: GETTY)

12:50pm: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has enjoyed a positive start to the 2019 season, and starts today fourth on the grid.

“We have a good car to race with,” he said.

“On pure pace, we are good. I think we’re close to Ferrari and Mercedes and it will just depend on tyre warm-up and tyre life during the race as well. At the end of the day, that will make the difference.”

Mercedes are current top of the constructors standings with 130 points. Ferrari come in second with 73 with Red Bull 19 points further back.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas (Image: GETTY)

12:25pm: Hello and welcome to Express Sport’s live coverage of the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Mercedes are looking to continue their dominance over Ferrari by securing a fourth consecutive one-two with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas in fine form.

The pair have a great chance of doing so today – having finished first and second in qualifying.

The top ten on the grid are as follows:

Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez, Daniil Kvyat, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz Jnr and Daniel Ricciardo.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas (Image: GETTY)

Kimi Raikkonen will start from the pit lane in Baku after being excluded form qualifying.

The Alfa Romeo driver had qualified in eighth but his front wing did not pass the expected flexibility tests.

An FIA statement read: “The stewards reviewed the evidence from the Technical Delegate and heard from the team representatives.

“The Stewards find that the front wing of car 7 deflected more than the 5mm under a load of 60 N, in breach of Article 3.9.8 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations.”

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas

Azerbaijan Grand Prix LIVE: Latest as Lewis Hamilton battles Sebastian Vettel and Bottas (Image: GETTY)

Ferrari youngster Charles Leclerc was the fastest driver at the start of the practise session, however, an unfortunate crash has left him eighth on the grid.

“I am stupid, I am stupid…” Leclerc said following the mistake.

Sky Sports F1 reporter Ted Kravitz noted that Ferrari bosses were in shock after the dissapointing event.

“Ferrari are shell-shocked. I don’t think they can quite believe what has happened,” he said.

source: express.co.uk