Lewis Hamilton completes Mercedes’ glorious 1-2 in Baku, making a significant statement for the championship. The Briton did not manage to claim pole position yesterday after a small error in Sector 1, and Bottas got the upper hand at the end of qualifying, knocking him out of the provisional pole spot. Despite an attempt of getting rid of Bottas at the start, Hamilton did not withstand the might of the Finn, although they got into a rather intense fight at the beginning of the race.

“This is a great result for the team. -he declared- I think this team is stronger than it's ever been and it's all down to teamwork. Both Valtteri and myself are pushing the boundaries of the car and are delivering, as are the team in the pitstops, the engineers, and everyone back at the factory. I don't think we have ever performed at this level before and I'm really grateful for all the hard work from everyone.”

Lewis Hamilton is pleased with the high standard kept up by the team, which is just proving why it won 5 world titles in a row and is just easing into the top spot for the 6th one.

“Baku is not my strongest race, it's always been difficult for me. I came close to the win today, but not close enough. I didn't get the job done in Qualifying and then I was a bit too cautious at the start. I also had an issue with the VSC and that made it tough to catch him up.”

The 5-time champion is happy with the decision of Mercedes letting the drivers race freely, as they displayed in the first lap, although he did not manage to take full advantage of the opportunity.

“But those are all ifs and buts; Valtteri drove a great race and deserved the win. It was great that the team let us race though. I'll work hard to bounce back and pick up the performance for Spain.”
https://www.motorlat.com/notas/f1/10656/bottas-hails-039-respectful-039-racing-against-hamilton-in-the-opening-lap