Winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was a "humbling experience" for Lewis Hamilton after Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel's issues handed him glory.

Hamilton passed Vettel when the German locked up while attempting to overtake Bottas at the safety car restart with four laps to go, consequently finishing fourth.

The Finn looked set to close out his first win of the season until driving over some debris and sustaining a puncture that forced his retirement on the subsequent lap.

Defending champion Hamilton consequently claimed the top step on the podium, with Kimi Raikkonen second and Sergio Perez in third, though the Force India driver could be demoted pending a meeting with the stewards following an alleged illegal use of DRS.

"It's a humbling experience," said Hamilton, who ended a barren run of six grands prix and leapfrogged Vettel at the top of the drivers' standings.

"Valtteri really deserved to win and drove an exceptional race.

"It was a real struggle today so to come out with the win I'm extremely grateful.

"Straight away … after the interviews, I went to see Valtteri straight away. That's why I was late to the podium."

Hamilton added: "It was really quite an emotional race to be honest.

"It feels a little bit odd to be up here but I've got to take it. I didn't give up, I kept pushing, but definitely a very untidy race from me."