5 Crazy Moments from the 2018 Baku Grand Prix

#2 A Tale of two Pink Panthers

Kimi Raikkonen clashing with Esteban Ocon in Baku

It was a mixed day for Force India at the fourth round of the 2018 Formula One season. The Pink Panthers seemed to have come leaps and bounds from Australia, locking down the fourth row in qualifying, having blistering pace far ahead of the rest of the midfield.

Esteban Ocon, the junior of the 2 Force India drivers got a magnificent start, tangling with former World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, however, his luck ran out pretty quickly as he didn't leave the Finn enough space down into turn three, sending his Force India right into the wall and out of the race. A pity, as it was only the Frenchman's second ever retirement in his Formula One career.

On the other hand, the hand of fate played in reverse for his teammate Sergio Perez. Checo sustained a fair bit of damage at the beginning of the race, needing to stop early amidst the chaos caused by his partner's crash, and get a new front wing. This left the Mexican driver well down the order, completely out of the points.

Sergio Perez celebrating on the podium in Baku 2018

However, this is Baku. A clean drive from Checo and a safety car later, Perez was up into 5th place, in part due to the retirements of Hulkenberg, Ocon, The 2 Red Bulls, and the aforementioned Grosjean.

From here, Perez brilliantly capitalized on a mistake by Vettel, and Valtteri Bottas's mishap to slingshot himself onto that last podium position, solidifying himself as the most successful Mexican driver in history with 8 podiums, 2 of which have been in Baku.