Here we are, three days after Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton had their little moment together during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the Formula 1 world is still abuzz about what happened.

Well now it's our turn to have a little say on what took place on Sunday, but, as well as that, to also consider why the FIA is still, reportedly, considering whether or not to take further action against Vettel in front of the International Tribunal Court.

By now everyone knows what occurred. In readying for the restart after the second Safety Car period, Vettel inadvertently hit the back of Hamilton's Mercedes slightly damaging both cars. In the belief that the Briton had brake-tested him, the four-time world champion pulled alongside shook his first and banged wheels seemingly intentionally.

The stewards in Baku would issue the German with a 10-second stop and go penalty dropping him from the lead and down the order to eighth before he was able to recover and claim fourth. 

Now, first of all, telemetry has shown Hamilton did nothing different to that at the first Safety Car restart, only that because he had caught Vettel sleeping on the first occasion, the Ferrari driver was desperate to avoid that happening again, particularly with Sergio Perez and two Williams snapping at his heels.

Hamilton did nothing wrong, should he have been decelerating through a corner, maybe not, but as the lead driver, the pace was his prerogative.  

It is then true that Vettel shouldn't have banged wheels with the Mercedes. Shake a fist? Fine, but to put both cars at risk of damage even at the speed they were travelling was wrong. 

However, the penalty justified the deed. The stewards, who have been told to be more lenient this year, awarded the harshest punishment they could other than disqualification and though reckless, taking the Ferrari out of the race for an impulse reaction would have been harsh. 

Let's not forget too, if Hamilton had not had his headrest issue before Vettel's penalty he would be heading to Austria the championship leader by three points, so why penalise him twice just because the 'victim' didn't gain? 

That brings us on to now looking at what should happen going forward.  

Think of what this has done for the F1 championship battle, not only do we have the two best drivers of their generation fighting for the title but they now want to beat each other's face in. 

This is Mayweather vs. McGregor on wheels and if you were eating popcorn when the two came close on track before, you'll need double the amount now. 

Also, Vettel's rage moment came from anger and passion and a determination that F1 has so lacked during the recent eras of domination. We saw how vetted the Mercedes 'rivalry' was in Abu Dhabi last year when even without a single thing for the team to gain, Toto Wolff and Paddy Lowe only had the company's interest at heart.

Now we have two teams that will stop at nothing to beat each other and in a time when drivers come across as whiny or baby-like certainly compared to the greats of yesteryear, wouldn't it just be nice to have a proper old-fashioned down and dirty fight between two of the best within reasonable boundaries?

Think about what they've pushed each other to so far, the epic battle in Spain, the incredible shoot-out for pole in Canada, both of them are bringing the best from each other and we as fans and Chase Carey as the owner should be promoting that, not have the governing body contemplating additional punishment for a moment of yes, madness.

But why not just let Vettel and Hamilton solve their differences on the racetrack, that way we all get a great fight, Carey gets an awesome product to promote and by the season finale in Abu Dhabi, we will have a world champion that will have earned it. That is far better than hauling someone in front of some jury, Mr President Todt.

This weekend Formula 1 returns to Baku for the second time at the renamed Azerbaijan Grand Prix and it has a score to settle.

It's safe to say the race that made its debut 12 months ago wasn't exactly a hit with many fans, most were confused why it was given the title of the European Grand Prix and the race around the streets of the Eurasian capital seemed to epitomise the main problem many had with the sport under Bernie Ecclestone, money over quality.

Then the action on the track itself turned out to be not-so-great. The GP2 races had been crazy but when the F1 boys went at it on Sunday, the most memorable aspect was Lewis Hamilton dealing with engine issues.

It wasn't a great start for a Grand Prix no-one really wanted in the first place, but it's back again and fans need to give Baku a chance to show what it can offer.

The street circuit does have potential to be entertaining as it combines so many track types into one. It has the tight confines of the castle section that will likely prove very tricky in this year's wider cars, high-speed kinks on the straights which most certainly catch your attention and then there's the two-kilometre sprint to the start/ finish line and if you don't like listening to F1 cars sing at over 340kph then you're not an F1 fan, sorry.

Last year, the circuit was very much suited to an already dominant Mercedes, this meant after Hamilton's crash in qualifying and problems during the race, only Nico Rosberg was ever going to cross the finish line first.

That will almost certainly be different this year with Mercedes and Ferrari still only separated by mere hundredths of a second. We didn't get to see the true state of play in Montreal after Sebastian Vettel's problems, but many did expect Ferrari to have the better race pace so who knows how it would have ended.

In Baku, the big decision will be which way to go on setup. Some teams, like McLaren and the Renault-powered outfits, have little choice but to try and maximise top speed down the main straight, but some, particularly Ferrari, may decide to try and optimise the technical parts of the circuit where they have been strongest all year.

Engines will be a key performance decider as the heavier, more draggy cars this year mean every last horsepower will translate into an extra two or three kilometres per hour before the drivers brake for Turn 1.

That also does likely give Mercedes the edge again over their Italian rivals, as tyres are not expected to be a major issue, but it will depend on which setup path the Scuderia chooses as to just how competitive they are in the high-speed section as a result.

The characteristics of the circuit should also lead to a repeat of the Force India/ Red Bull battle we saw in Canada with Williams in the mix too. Sergio Perez stood on the podium at this race last year and should there be an issue for either Mercedes or Ferrari, the Mexican and his team-mate Esteban Ocon may well be dark horses to do what one of them should have done two weeks ago.

The unknowns will be Haas, Toro Rosso and Renault. The midfield has remained very competitive throughout this season and it is likely these teams can also fight for the tail end of the top 10, whether they can find the final tenths to challenge for sixth, seventh or eighth will be an important question.

It will also depend on the performance of Lance Stroll, who will look to use his first points finish in F1 in Canada to push forward for the rest of the season. If the 18-year-old can start to close some of the speed gap to Felipe Massa, then Q3 and more points finishes could well become more common.

Finally, at the back, Sauber and McLaren are likely to have a somewhat private duel, as engine penalties are expected for both Stoffel Vandoorne and Fernando Alonso with Honda bringing a first step update to their troubled power unit.

The Swiss team also have their own problems, now without their team boss Monisha Kaltenborn, and with year-old Ferrari engine, despite car upgrades that are planned, moving higher than 16th is likely to be very difficult.

So there is then plenty of reasons to expect an action-packed weekend in Baku. Certainly, it shapes up to be more exciting than 2016 and you know what, if we judged every new race by its first year then many of the current circuits and events we consider to be among F1's best may have never reached the standard they have.

After an unconvincing inaugural race, the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan hosted a race that would be remembered for ages. From Safety Cars to a red flag, a first podium to first points, anger and satisfaction, who finished the Grand Prix as the winners and who were the losers?

Biggest winner: Lance Stroll

Stroll leaves Baku as the biggest winner after the Canadian became the youngest ever rookie to get a podium. Following a slow start to the season with three retirements and three non-scoring races, a resurgent Stroll collected his first points at his home race in Montreal. If some thought that was a one-off drive the 18-year-old backed it up with a solid race taking advantage of all the drama to finish third. The only slight blip, losing second on the finish line to Valtteri Bottas by a tenth of a second.

Other winners:                                           

McLaren & Fernando Alonso:

McLaren was able to score their first points of 2017 on a circuit they were expected to struggle at, even more having had both cars at the back after a combined 70-place grid drop. Finally, however, Fernando Alonso got some reward for all his incredible performances as he managed a safe race to take ninth position and a valuable two points for the British team.

Daniel Ricciardo:

As if a crash in qualifying was not enough bad luck for the Australian, Ricciardo had to stop early in the race with a blocked brake duct, dropping him back to 17th. Even Ricciardo lost hope until the drama started and the Red Bull driver began to make his way back towards the front. It would take a moment of brilliance and bravery to pass both Williams into Turn 1 at the final race restart and, after assuming the lead following the problems for Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, the unexpectedness of the win only added to the sweetness of those 25 points.

Valtteri Bottas:

Following his first lap collision, Bottas dropped to last position and was lapped. With the first Safety Car allowing him to rejoin the pack on the same lap, from then it was one flying lap after another as the Finn performed some astonishing overtakes until the chequered flag. To then make over a second in the final two kilometres to grab second from Stroll, that was crucial for him to close the gap to the top drivers in the championship a little more.

Sebastian Vettel:

The German should be satisfied with fourth position after a hard weekend. Vettel, who was forced to change his engine to an older spec with less power but was able to keep his engine safe for the whole, demanding race. While much of the attention is on his penalty and the drama with Lewis Hamilton, the Ferrari driver will enjoy finishing ahead of his direct rival in the world championship and increasing his lead to 14 points.

Carlos Sainz:

It was an eventful start for the Spaniard, as he spun to avoid his team-mate exiting Turn 1 at the start, from there Sainz would drive a calm race claiming valuable points for him and Toro Rosso in eight.

Pascal Wehrlein:

The German youngster had another strong performance. Wehrlein was able to avoid the drama and chaos, keep his head down and grab the last point coming in 10^th. This point is of huge importance for the bottom teams and might play a role in deciding positions at the end of the season.

Biggest Loser: Max Verstappen

The Dutch teenager was forced to retire early in the race with an engine problem after a good start and running third. But to see his team-mate on the top spot must hurt Verstappen after he enjoyed a good weekend competing with the top teams and had high hopes for the race. He also now has less than half the points of Ricciardo with four retirements in six races.

Other Losers:

Lewis Hamilton:

An issue with his headrest forced the Briton and lose the lead having been comfortable throughout. Perhaps more frustrating was how his main title rival, Sebastian Vettel, was able to finish ahead of him on track, despite being given the harshest penalty before disqualification for a moment of craziness in which he was the victim.

Kimi Raikkonen:

Raikkonen was in need for a solid performance, as the gap to his team-mate continues to increase race after race. However, the Finn would clash with fellow countryman Bottas at the start damaging his car, then, as he started building a comeback, the Force India duo collided ahead of him and the Ferrari was not able to avoid the debris picking up a puncture. Raikkonen's car was hastily fixed during the red flag but ultimately, it was severely damaged forcing him to retire later on.

Sergio Perez:

Colliding with team-mate Ocon arguably cost Perez a podium, maybe, if he's to be believed, a victory. That alone is enough to be considered a loser.

Romain Grosjean:

Grosjean endured a miserable weekend as the usual brake problems were particularly emphasised. The Frenchman seemed to have zero confidence at any point in the race as he struggled to finish a rock bottom 13th of 13 finishers, compared to his team-mate in seventh position.

The Canadian Grand Prix has become one of the most popular races on the calendar since becoming part of the Formula 1 World Championship in 1967.

The event was first staged at Mosport Park in Ontario as a sports car event in 1961, alternating between Mosport and Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Quebec after F1 took over the event.

Safety concerns led to the Grand Prix moving permanently to Mosport from 1971 and then, in 1978, similar safety concerns with Mosport meant the Canadian race moved to a new home on the Île Notre-Dame in Montreal, where it has remained since.

In 2014, the organizers announced they had agreed to a 10-year extension to keep the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve through 2024.

Canadian Prix, Round Seven of the 2017 Formula 1 season

Circuit Name: Circuit Île Notre-Dame / Gilles Villeneuve

Race Laps: 70

Circuit Length: 4.361 km (2.709 mi)

Race Length: 305.270 km (189.694 mi)

Number of corners: 14 (8 Right, 6 Left)

DRS Zone: Two Zones (Zone 1 Between Turn 12 and 13, zone 2 Between 14 turn  and 1 at the Start/Finish Line)

Circuit Direction: Clockwise

Pole Position 2016: Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes 1:12.812

Race Track Record: Rubens Barrichello 1:13.622 – Ferrari 2004

Absolute Lap Record: 1:12.275 Ralf Schumacher – Williams. Q2, 2004

Distance from Pole to T1 Apex 362.1 m

Pole Position Side Left

Pit Lane Length under Speed Limit Control 401.1 m

Drive-Through Time at 80 km/h 18.05 s      

Delta FP1 to Q3 1.943 s

Delta Q1 to Q3 0.902 s

Lap Time at Full Throttle 60 %

Lap Distance at Full Throttle 72 %     

Gear Changes per Lap 50  

Braking Events (>2G) 7

Heavy Braking Events (<0.4s @ >4G) 6

Fuel Consumption High

Maximum Lateral G-Force 3.7 @ T5

Maximum Speed 327 km/h

Track Evolution (P1 – Qualifying) High       

Key Overtaking Opportunities T1/T10/T12       

Gilles Villeneuve International Circuit

Pirelli used compounds

Tyres that must be available (one of them to be used) at some point in the race:

One set of P Zero Yellow soft

One set of P Zero Red Super-Soft

Tyres assigned for Q3 in qualifying:                     

One set of P Zero Purple Ultra-Soft

Teams/Drivers compounds choice

THE CIRCUIT FROM A TYRE POINT OF VIEW:

MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR RACING

“Montreal has many unique features, but with its smooth surface, it actually contains some similarities to Sochi. Last year the winner did one stop, while the second-placed driver made two stops using all three compounds, which just goes to show the very wide variety of strategies that are possible. Finding the right set-up, with the correct aerodynamic and mechanical balance, is never easy in Montreal: this is one of the key factors to making the tyres work effectively there. It’s also important to take an open-minded approach to strategy, given the variable weather and safety cars that are historically possible.”

MONTREAL MINIMUM STARTING PRESSURES (SLICKS)

MONTREAL EOS - CAMBER LIMIT

Canadian Grand Prix Winners 1966 – 2016

Multiple Winners (Drivers)

Multiple Winners (Constructors)

Numbers and Facts

Most wins (driver) 7 Michael Schumacher 1994 – 97 – 98 – 2000 – 02 – 03 – 04

Most wins (constructor) 13 McLaren (most recent 2012 and wins here = 9 which is bettered by Ferrari at CGV [10])

Wins from pole position 21, 1969 – 71 – 74 – 76 – 79 – 83 – 84 – 86 – 88 – 90 – 93 – 94 – 96 – 97 – 2000 – 06 – 07 – 10 – 13 – 15 – 16

Lowest grid for past winner 10 Jacques Laffite – 1981

Most recent 1-2 finish 2015 Mercedes (Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg)

Most emphatic win 1 lap 1968 – Denny Hulme-Bruce McLaren (at Ile Notre Dame = 42.029s 1983 – Rene Arnoux-Eddie Cheever)

Closest winning margin 0.174s 2000 – Michael Schumacher-Rubens Barrichello

Rain-affected races 6, 1971 – 73 – 81 – 89 – 90 – 2000 – 2011

Safety Car-affected races 13 1973 – 97 – 98 – 99 – 2001 – 02 – 05 – 06 – 07 – 08 – 11 – 12 – 16

Red Flag (and result declared) races 0

2-hour rule shortened races 2 1981 – 89

Fastest race 2004 70 L @ 1:28’24.803

Slowest race 1967 90 L @ 2:40’40.0 (Mosport). Note: 2011 accumulated race time was 70 L @ 4:04’39.537

Most pole positions (driver) 6 Michael Schumacher 1994 – 95 – 97 – 99 – 2000 – 01

Most pole positions (constructor) 11 McLaren 1972 – 74 – 76 – 88 – 89 – 90 – 92 – 98 – 2007 – 08 – 10

What Happened last race here?

Hamilton  won the 2016 Canadian Grand prix after he leapfrogged a fast-starting Sebastian Vettel when Ferrari opted to keep the latter on a two-stop pit strategy to Hamilton’s one, but in the last laps Vettel was unable to catch Hamilton who took a fifth victory in Montreal.

Valtteri Bottas took the final podium position, with Max Verstappen fourth.

Nico Rosberg finished fifth after he collided with Hamilton at the first corner, the pair tangling as they followed Vettel into the first corner.

2016 Race Classification

Did you know?

DRIVERS

✪ Sebastian Vettel Vettel has not won back-to-back Grand Prix since he won the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix. That race ended a 9-race run of victories that started in

Belgium, (BEL, ITA, SIN, KOR, JAP, IND, ABU, USA, BRA)

✪ Vettel and Lewis Hamilton are now the only drivers to have finished in the points in all races so far this season

✪ Hamilton is just 4 pole positions from equalling Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of 68 F1 GP pole positions. Since he has been at Mercedes he has taken pole 38 times already. That is over 40% of all races he’s started for the team (38/ 81 = 46.9%). He is also just 1 behind Ayrton Senna’s (second-best) career total of 65 pole

positions. Clearly he could equal Senna’s total on Saturday

✪ Hamilton has scored 12 F1 ‘hat-tricks’ (pole, win and fastest lap in the same event). Only Michael Schumacher with 22 F1 hat-tricks has now scored more

✪ Hamilton has won (55) 28.4% of all GP he’s started (194) and is in the top 10 drivers races to win ratio of all-time. This is how he compares: -1. Fangio 47.0%, 2. Ascari 40.6%, 3. Clark 34.7%, 4. M. Schumacher 29.7%, 5. Hamilton 28.4%, 6. Ja. Stewart 27.2%, 7. Prost 25.6%, 8. A. Senna 25.5%, 9. Vettel 24.5% (45/ 184), 10. S. Moss 24.2%

✪ Hamilton has now led 103 different F1 Grand Prix races. Only Michael Schumacher has led more (142)

✪ WARNING. Mercedes might celebrate Valtteri Bottas’s 100th Grand Prix in Canada. Canada will be the 100th time he will have been present in the entry list for a F1

World Championship Grand Prix event but, to date he has ‘only’ made 83 race starts. Of the other 16, 15 are accounted for by Free Practice appearances for Williams in

2012 and 1 late withdrawal from the event due to a back injury picked up in qualifying, in Australia 2015

✪ The next podium of Bottas’s F1 career will be his 13th and will equal Gilles Villeneuve (and Jochen Rindt, Francois Cevert, Didier Pironi and Nick Heidfeld too)

✪ Kimi Raikkonen’s next win if ever it comes will be the 21st of his F1 career and will also be the most by a Finnish driver in F1. Currently he shares the record of 20 wins

by a Finn with Mika Hakkinen

✪ The Spanish Grand Prix marked the first anniversary of Max Verstappen’s first Grand Prix win. He has until the Singapore Grand Prix in September to win a second

while still a teenager. (20th birthday on September 30th 2017). He is of course, so far the only teenager in F1 history to win a F1 World Championship Grand Prix and could

still become the only teenager to take pole position too for a F1 World Championship Grand Prix. Max and Ricardo Rodriguez who started the 1961 Italian Grand Prix

from P2 in his Ferrari when aged 19 years and 208 days are the only teenage drivers to date to have started a Grand Prix from the front row (Max the youngest, at the

2016 Belgian Grand Prix where he started P2 he was aged18 years and 333 days

✪ Sergio Perez needs just 1 more podium to become the Mexican driver with the most F1 podiums (currently = with Pedro Rodriguez on 7)

CONSTRUCTORS

✪ Ferrari has still not scored consecutive pole positions since Fernando Alonso took pole for the Scuderia at the 2012 British and German Grand Prix and has still not scored a consecutive front row lock-out since Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa lock-out the front row for the 2006 US and French Grand Prix

✪ Ferrari last season was the only team to score championship points at all 21 events

✪ Mercedes in Monaco ended a 21-race run on the podium

✪ Mercedes in Canada will be aiming to lockout the front row for the 49th time. The all-time record is 62 and is jointly held by McLaren and Williams

✪ Mercedes’s fastest lap of the race in Spain courtesy of Lewis Hamilton was the marque’s 50th as a F1 World Championship constructor

✪ Red Bull has achieved a podium result for at least one of their drivers podium in 101 different F1 Grand Prix

✪ The current Williams team traces its origins back to the setting up of Williams Grand Prix Engineering by Frank Williams and Patrick Head in 1977. This year the team will

be celebrating its 40th anniversary. The team began by running a March for Belgian Patrick Neve who sadly died earlier is year and later in 1978, became a constructor

running a single FW06 car for Alan Jones. In 1979 the team expanded to 2 cars with Clay Regazzoni joining Jones. Regazzoni won Williams’s first Grand Prix, at Silversone

in 1979 while Jones claimed Williams’s first driver’s and first constructor’s titles in 1980. Frank Williams had made his first forays into F1 in 1969, running a Brabham for

Piers Courage. Campaigns with De Tomaso, private March’s, with his own cars and ex-works Heskeths latterly in conjunction with Canadian-Austrian entrepreneur Walter

Wolf followed but it wasn’t until Williams teamed up with Head and started a new team all over again that Williams’s F1 fortunes really took off

✪ Force India is the only constructors to have finished both cars in each of the 6 Grand Prix so far this season

CANADIAN GRAND PRIX

✪ The Montreal circuit is dedicated to the memory of Gilles Villeneuve. 2017 is the 40th anniversary of Villeneuve’s F1 Grand Prix debut, for McLaren at Silverstone in 1977

✪ Lewis Hamilton is looking for a 6th Canadian Grand Prix win. The record is 7 by Michael Schumacher. Between the pair they have won over 25% of all F1 World

Championship-qualifying Canadian Grand Prix and nearly 1/3rd of all Grand Prix on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (12 of 47 and 12 of 37)

✪ It is 10 years since Hamilton won his first Grand Prix, here in 2007

✪ Hamilton is chasing a 3rd Canadian Grand Prix win in a row. His last 2 wins here were both from pole and in all of his 5 wins here to date he has started the race from

the front row. To date only Michael Schumacher has won this race 3 times consecutively (2002 – 2004) and he wasn’t on pole for any of them so could Hamilton become the first to win 3 in-a-row from pole?

Driver’s Championship standing

Constructor’s Championship standing

Driver’s penalty points: