Sebastian Vettel drove into Lewis Hamilton behind safety car as Lance Stroll shocked F1

The 2017 title race was bubbling away nicely under the surface, until one moment at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix set the whole thing alight.

Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton were the two early-season front runners for the Formula 1 crown that year, and their rivalry really took off in Baku. They were both left pointing the finger at each other when Vettel hit into the back of Hamilton while they were trundling around behind a safety car.

It caused damage to both cars, as the Ferrari was left with a broken front wing while the rear diffuser on the Mercedes had also been affected. They had been first and second at the time, but by the end of the race it was Daniel Ricciardo in his Red Bull who took advantage of the chaos to win.

Vettel later claimed he had been brake-tested by Hamilton, but telemetry data later proved that the Briton had never touched his brake pedal. Meanwhile, the German was labelled "a disgrace" by his rival, who had finished a place behind in fifth and lost ground in the title race.

What made this collision more shocking than most was that TV replays showed that Vettel had made contact on purpose. If the first was an accident, then the second – when he pulled his Ferrari alongside to make a gesture with his hand before turning to bang the wheels of the two cars together – certainly wasn't.

"F1 is for grown-ups," Vettel later declared, as he defended his actions. "I drove alongside and we had a little contact. I wasn't happy with the brake-testing. I drove alongside him and raised my hand to say that is not the way to do it."

Hamilton, meanwhile, was so furious that he suggested he and his rival should settle the matter "face-to-face". He said: "He was obviously sleeping and driving alongside and