Brilliant teamwork saves Piastri, late lunge clinches race lead — F1 ...

Australia’s Oscar Piastri has claimed a brilliant second F1 race win, holding on for victory in a thrilling Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The second-year McLaren driver started second and needed help from teammate Lando Norris, who was well down the order, to avoid losing his spot through the opening pit stops.

But Piastri took full advantage of Norris’ hard work, with a brave dive down the inside of race leader Charles Leclerc on lap 20 to claim a lead he would never relinquish.

“That was the most stressful afternoon of my life,” he quipped post-race.

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But unlike his first win in Hungary, it came with only joy, given he didn’t have to rely on Norris giving up the race lead.

“He is no longer the next best star coming into F1. The star is here,” Karun Chandhok said on Sky F1.

“Some people felt he didn’t deserve it (the first win). There can be no doubt in anybody’s mind that he deserved that victory today.

“Perfect, perfect drive.”

Oscar Piastri won in Azerbaijan.Source: FOX SPORTS

An ugly crash on the second-last lap between Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez ended both men’s races and saw the race finish under the virtual safety car.

“What the f***! Is he crazy or what? F***ing idiot!” Perez ranted.

George Russell finished third thanks to the late incident with McLaren taking the lead in the constructors’ championship.

The win continued Piastri’s brilliant form as he was the leading points scorer among all F1 drivers across the European races.

It also makes amends for a missed opportunity at the Italian Grand Prix, where Piastri pitted one extra time and could not catch up and pass Leclerc in time.

It was a tight battle through the entire second half of the race with Piastri having to defend from Leclerc and Perez.

Piastri becomes the first Australian driver with multiple F1 race wins in a season since Daniel Ricciardo’s final Red Bull campaign in 2018.

Ricciardo also won multiple races in 2014, his first year with the team, while Mark Webber did it three times (2009, 2010, 2012).

The McLaren got through the opening laps running second, where he qualified.

Both Red Bulls Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez gained a place each early while Verstappen’s lone title contender Lando Norris moved up from 15th to 12th by the end of the opening lap - though already found himself four seconds behind the top 10.

RACE CENTRE: F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix timings and more

Crucially Piastri remained in touch with Leclerc, getting DRS down the extremely long main straight at times, while opening up a more than two-second gap on third-placed Perez.

On lap 8 (of 51), Piastri was told to switch to plan B, beginning to slip away from Leclerc with the gap up to 2.4 seconds.

The gap opened up by another second three laps later as Piastri appeared to be managing his rear tyre temperatures.

McLaren's Australian driver Oscar Piastri gets into his car on the starting grid prior to the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit in Baku on September 15, 2024. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP)Source: AFP

Verstappen and George Russell boxed earliest of the leaders, going from the mediums to the hards on lap 13, the Red Bull coming out in traffic after a slow stop, 10th behind Ricciardo.

Perez boxed on lap 14 and quickly threatened to undercut Piastri, but some brilliant team driving from Norris blocking the Red Bull through the tight castle section ensured the Aussie pitted two laps later but stayed ahead.

Leclerc pitted a lap later and used Albon, who hadn’t pitted, to make almost two seconds of space between himself and the undercut pair of Piastri and Perez.

Piastri passed Albon on the straight and then gleefully watched in his mirrors as the Williams continued to block the man in his former Red Bull seat, while closing to within a second of Leclerc up ahead.

On lap 20 Piastri lunged down the inside of Leclerc in the opening corner and took the lead of the race.

“I don’t think he expected it to come there,” Karun Chandhok said on Sky F1 commentary.

Leclerc complained he was being pushed harder than he wanted, with both he and Perez earning DRS in a tight three-horse race for the lead.

Meanwhile down the order Norris, who hadn’t pitted after starting on the hards, was hoping to hold up Sainz (5th) and Verstappen (7th).

Piastri showed great pace in the race lead, with McLaren believing he had overworked his medium tyres in the first stint, before pit reporter Ted Kravitz reported fears on lap 28 he had again overworked his tyres and would soon drop back.

Heading into lap 29, with Leclerc now only 0.6 seconds back heading into the back straight, it forced Piastri into a desperate defence which worked a treat but only just.

Piastri continued to defend bravely with Leclerc making a strong move every two laps or so, and Perez lurking dangerously close behind the pair.

Ferrari attempted to outfox McLaren by telling Leclerc to box opposite Piastri heading into lap 37, but neither man went into the pits - with a stop at that point surely too late to work anyway.

Leclerc was asked on lap 39 about trying plan C as the team desperately tried to find a way past the Aussie.

Carlos Sainz caught up with the top three on lap 46 to threaten a four-way fight for the lead with five laps remaining.

Lap 47 proved critical with Piastri breaking out of DRS range from Leclerc as the Ferrari’s rear tyres hit the cliff, leaving the Aussie safe in the lead more than two seconds ahead.

Meanwhile on lap 49 Norris crucially overtook Verstappen for P6, slightly reducing the gap in the title race.

Starting grid (after Gasly relegated, Hamilton and Ocon pit lane starts due to changes)

Front row Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari), Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren)

2nd row Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari), Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull)

3rd row George Russell (GBR/Mercedes), Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull)

4th row Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin), Franco Colapinto (ARG/Williams)

5th row Alex Albon (THA/Williams), Oliver Bearman (GBR/Haas)

6th row Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/RB), Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Haas),

7th row Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin), Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/RB),

8th row Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren), Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Sauber),

9th row Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Sauber), Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine)

Pit lane Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes), Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine)