Rosberg cruises to victory in Azerbaijan

Nico Rosberg cruised to victory in the first Formula One race held in Azerbaijan on Sunday and increased his championship lead over Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton to 24 points.

While the German enjoyed an uneventful drive in the late afternoon sunshine, triple world champion Hamilton worked up a head of steam as he wrestled with his car’s settings without the team being able to help.

The Briton, who had sounded increasingly petulant, fixed the problem but finished fifth in a race billed as the European Grand Prix.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel took second place, 16.6 seconds behind, with Force India’s Mexican Sergio Perez in third place after overtaking Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari on the last lap.

IN THE POINTS

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) +16.696secs
3. Sergio Perez (Force India) +25.241s
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) +33.102s
5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +56.335s
6. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) +60.886s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) +69.229s
8. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +70.696s
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) +77.708ss
10. Felipe Massa (Williams) +85.375s