Video | Verstappen sets fastest lap in Baku before dramatic tyre blowout
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- GPblog.com
Max Verstappen was on his way to a dominant win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix but saw his race end prematurely due to a blowout. This happened just four laps before the finish, a few laps after he clocked the fastest lap of the race.
Fastest lap for Verstappen in Baku, but no extra point
The fastest lap was exchanged during the race between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Sergio Perez also had the fastest lap for a while, while holding off Hamilton. In the end, it was the Dutchman who set the fastest time with a 1:44.805 on lap 44, and this time was not improved upon.
The Red Bull Racing driver looked set for an easy win, but that image was dramatically diminished when his left rear tyre burst on lap 48. The crash resulted in a red flag, where the drivers were given the opportunity to change their tyres.
A restart followed, with just two laps to go. Perez had to defend his first place against Hamilton, who got away better and looked set to take the lead. He made a mistake and slid straight on, leaving him with zero points. In theory, Verstappen was entitled to an extra point by driving the fastest lap, but because of his crash, he ended up outside the top ten, which he also missed out on.