Ted Kravitz left scratching his head as 'annoyed' F1 ace leaves Azerbaijan GP early

Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz was left confused after spotting Nico Hulkenberg make an early exit after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. There was late drama in Baku as Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Red Bull's Sergio Perez were part of a huge crash on the penultimate lap - but the incident also had knock-on effects for Hulkenberg.

Perez had been chasing down Charles Leclerc in second but it was the latter's Ferrari teammate who spotted his chance at turn 1 to move ahead of the Red Bull driver. As both men jostled for position, their two cars crashed into a wall, leading to a safety car coming out to finish the race.

While F1 stewards opted against punishing Sainz and Perez, the crash also impacted Hulkenberg. The Haas driver was spotted leaving the circuit by Kravitz after brushing the wall himself and dealing with debris from the crash, which allowed his teammate Oliver Bearman to steal his 10th-place finish.

“To say that Nico Hulkenberg is a little bit miffed is an understatement,” Kravitz told Sky Sports. “I saw Hulkenberg leaving the circuit quite early, with sunglasses on and a very nice green t-shirt. I thought, ‘That’s a bit odd, why is Hulkenberg leaving before, what clearly would have been, the debriefs?’

“And now, I know why, because he was so annoyed with himself - probably not with Ollie Bearman because he was just racing, doing what he needed to do - that he lost a point. So, while I feel very sorry for Niko Hulkenberg, who finished 11th, you’ve got to say well done and good opportunist move from Ollie Bearman to nick the final point for Hass F1.”

Bearman, 19, made his F1 debut for Ferrari earlier this year, claiming seventh place in Saudi Arabia. The teenager has since secured a full-time seat for Haas next season but made an early debut for the team in Baku due to Kevin Magnussen’s one-race ban and was once again among the points after pouncing on Hulkenberg’s mistakes.

His combined top 10 finishes have put Bearman on seven points and 16th in the drivers' standings. However, he felt uneasy about taking any acclaim for the race after being bumped up two places as a result of Sainz and Perez's crash.

"Yeah, I got a point but maybe not fully deserved," Bearman admitted. “It was a tough race out there,” he explained. “I was a little bit cautious on my first stint and lost the pack a little bit. [It was a] bit difficult.

“Second stint was much better, I just got stuck a few times in traffic and every time I was trying to overtake, I was losing a bit of grip from the tyres overheating. It took me a few laps to recover again but whenever I had clean air I was able to have good pace, but clean air is not easy to come by round here.”

Bearman will go back to being Haas' reserve driver for the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix as Magnussen returns from his suspension. Hulkenberg, who is 11th in the driver standings, will hope to make up for his mistakes in Singapore, while Haas sit seventh in the constructor leaderboard.