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Papers: 'Out of control' Sebastian Vettel deserved black flag for Lewis Hamilton clash at Azerbaijan GP

'For the sake of safety of the other drivers, a man so out of control should not have been allowed to continue,' says one paper as Vettel is criticised around Europe for his shunt into Hamilton

A 'childish' Sebastian Vettel should have been disqualified from the Azerbaijan GP for his clash with Lewis Hamilton, according to Monday's papers.

They also claim Vettel's collision was similar to the Michael Schumacher move that saw him excluded from the 1997 world championship, while it has even been compared to Zinedine Zidane's 2006 World Cup final headbutt.

The Daily Mail lead with the back page headline 'disgraceful' following Vettel's shunt into the race-leading Hamilton behind the Safety Car, with Jonathan McEvoy writing that the German 'let himself down'.

Vettel received a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for his actions but still finished fourth, one place ahead of his title rival in Baku, and McEvoy argues that the punishment was unjust.

Hamilton won't talk to Vettel

"He turned his Ferrari into a battering ram by steering into Hamilton," McEvoy claims. "If I had done that on my Sunday afternoon drive, I'd have had my collar felt. It was road rage, pure and simple.

"The cowardly stewards gave Vettel a 10-second stop-go penalty, a miserly punishment for such law-breaking as the world was watching. He should have been black-flagged, that is to say disqualified, rather than allowed to extend his championship lead by finishing two-tenths of a second ahead of fifth-placed Hamilton.

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"For the sake of safety of the other drivers, a man so out of control should not have been allowed to continue."

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Whilst waiting for the re-start under the safety car, Sebastian Vettel hits the back of Lewis Hamilton, then remonstrates with Hamilton by bumping into the

The Sun follow a similar theme, adding that a chaotic Azerbaijan GP eventually won by Daniel Ricciardo was one of the 'craziest races in years'.

"Forget Formula One, this was more like Wacky Races - with Sebastian Vettel playing the role of Dick Dastardly," wrote motorsport correspondent Ben Hunt.

"The Azerbaijan GP was one of the most incident-packed races in years with crashes, bust-ups, three safety cars… it was even stopped with too much debris on the track from all the crashes."

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has claimed that the "gloves are now off" in the title battle rivalry while Hamilton, who described Vettel's driving as "dangerous" and "disgusting", says he has no intention of speaking to the championship leader. And The Guardian's Giles Richards agrees that the respect between the two drivers could evaporate.

"When Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel finally clashed on the track in an incident-filled race, a relationship that has up until now been defined by mutual respect and cordiality escalated swiftly as the gloves came off and full-blown battle lines were drawn up," Richards writes.

"That respect, at least on Hamilton's side, appears to have now disappeared in a matter of moments, bringing a potentially ferocious edge to this championship."

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Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel were furious with each other following two clashes at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The British press firmly believe Vettel and Hamilton's clash will be the talking point of the 2017 season, and the collision is unsurprisingly the main talking point in other European newspapers, too.

German publication BILD believe there is now "war in Formula 1", while Marca state that the 'clearest precedent of what happened in Baku' was 20 years ago in Jerez, when Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve collided. In this instance, Vettel's countryman was punished for "unsportsmanlike conduct' and disqualified from the Drivers' Championship.

"It was nonsense aggression," the Spanish outlet add. "As a race leader, Hamilton has the power to regulate the pace when the Safety Car goes. Vettel did the same in Red Bull. His reaction was childish and he must have seen the black flag."

Vettel, however, has been defended in Italy, with Gazetta dello Sport claiming Hamilton deserves some of the blame, and comparing the Ferrari driver's punishment to Zidane's red card in the match between France and Italy.

"The football match that comes to mind is that of the 2006 World Finals," Umberto Zapelloni writes. "Marco Materazzi provokes, Zidane reacts with the famous headbutt. Game over for Zizou. Hamilton did a lot worse than Materazzi."

Don't miss the F1 Report: Azerbaijan GP Review on Sky Sports F1 at 8.30pm on Wednesday for the final word on the weekend's action.

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