Insane Azerbaijan Grand Prix!

That was an incredible, incredible race! The most exciting I can remember since probably Brazilian GP 2012. Certainly since Bahrain 2014.

A mere four weeks ago, Ferrari looked supreme, dominating Mercedes. Things have turned around in the last two races, Mercedes back well ahead of Ferrari, in terms of sheer pace. Or so it looked like in qualifying. Lewis nailed that lap. Absolutely smooth, it looked slow, but it was over a second faster than a Ferrari. But it wasn't going to be plain sailing on Sunday. Oh, no, not even close!

Never give up

If there was one thing to learn from today, it was - Never give up! It's so obvious that the podium finishers echoed the same sentiment.

When the race leader crossed the line to start Lap 3, Valtteri Bottas was trundling around on his very first lap - over one lap down! He fought back up, all the way to second. What an incredible drive - just kept his nose clean, kept at it, while everyone's race was falling apart.

By Lap 6, Daniel Ricciardo had to make an emergency pit stop to clear his brake duct. He was second last on Lap 7. Two hours later, he won the race!

And what a race it was.

Stroll comes of age

Stroll has been the butt of all jokes. The rich kid whose billionaire family paid for the racing seat. Others accused Williams of Verstappen/Red Bull/teenage-prodigy envy. After a horribly unfortunate start to the season, Stroll proved his mettle last week, finishing in the points in Canada.

But today, his drive was simply sublime. This is the Formula 3 champion that we were told about. This is a true Formula 1 driver. It shows just how much confidence does. I can't wait to see what Stroll does next. He was the driver of the day - that proves that he has grown on the fans.

He was in second place till the last 0.1 seconds. Yes, that's how much Bottas pipped him by, right at the finish line! That's basically imperceptible for a race that ran 2 hours.

Vettel has a meltdown

All that "mutual respect" spiel goes down the drain. These are two of the most arrogant drivers on the grid. It was only a matter of time things exploded, and it certainly happened today.

Vettel claims Hamilton brake tested him, causing him to run into the back of the Mercedes. We'll see when the telemetry is out. But what followed was downright absurd - I even LOLed.

Vettel drew next to Hamilton like a madman and basically ran into the side of him! What was that about?! Truly bizarre.

The championship rivals hit trouble

Equally bizarre was Hamilton's headrest coming loose. Never seen that before! Being at the pinnacle of automotive engine does mean things are put together with very little tolerance.

At the very moment Hamilton came into the pits to get the headrest replaced, Vettel got a 10 second stop-go penalty.

First and second down to seventh and eighth - race on!

Lost opportunities

I know, it's irrelevant to get into ifs and maybes when it comes to motor racing. But you gotta feel for the Force Indias. When Vettel

With Vettel and Hamilton out of the picture, the Force Indias could have been first and second! I do think Daniel would have passed them at some point, but they had a real chance with their straight line speed advantage. Certainly, it would have been a double podium.

Terrible luck for Kimi, Max and Felipe - they could have easily finished on the podium or won the race.

Cars come back from the dead

The red flag meant Perez, Ocon and Raikkonen made their way back to the grid after having retired. Pretty incredible job by the mechanics. Even with the red flag, they really turned those cars around fast.

Speaking of dead - finally, finally, points for McLaren and Alonso!

There's going to be quite a fallout - the drama will continue. I wonder where we'll be in two weeks' time in Austria. Can't wait!

All images from Formula1.com.