F1 News: Piastri out duels Leclerc to win fantastic 2024 Azerbaijan GP

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri won a sensational 2024 Azerbaijan GP by out dueling Charles Leclerc on the Baku City Circuit.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Leclerc led from pole for the first 20 laps, but then Piastri passed Leclerc down the inside of Turn 1 to take the lead he would never relinquish.

It was a fantastic 3-car battle for the win all race long between Piastri, Leclerc and Sergio Perez but when Carlos Sainz Jr. joined the battle in the closing laps the battle became a 3-way for 2nd as Piastri begun to check out.

Then on the penultimate lap Perez and Sainz locked wheels and crashed out, handing George Russell third place under the virtual safety car.

Checo drove a good race today and was heading for a podium.

I don’t know what exactly happened here, but it seems Sainz ruined Checo’s race and podium.pic.twitter.com/IkYIk3j8tc

— Marc🏎 (@433_marc) September 15, 2024

They haven’t been the best fiends this weekend. Already Sainz and Perez have been to the stewards room together twice for impeding in practice, and the third time seems to be the charm.

“I think as soon as we put the hard tires on – on the medium we were very competitive,” said Russell. “I really thought in one corner or two I would put it in the wall, it was very close. McLaren and Oscar did an exceptional job and were better for us. A great shame for Carlos, I hope everyone is okay and not a great day for the team.”

“In the straights I couldn’t get as close as I wanted, and we lost the race when I didn’t quite defend as well as I could have, but it is how it is, sometimes you do mistakes and I will learn from it.”

Lando Norris came from 15th on the grid to pass his title rival Verstappen with 2 laps to go to finish 4th and further close the gap to Verstappen, who struggled all day and was lucky to finish 5th. With Norris also getting one point for fastest race lap, Verstappen now leads Norris, 313 points to 254 (59 points) with 7 races to go.

McLaren has now passed Red Bull to lead the Constructors Race 476 to 456 points with Ferrari close behind with 425 points and looks set to relegate Red Bull to third before the season is over

When Perez and Sainz crashed out and the virtual safety car came out, Red Bull made a stupid call to pit Verstappen for soft tires, but he could not get the point for fastest lap because the race was going to finish under caution.

“I tried at the start to get in front, but once i dropped out of DRS I didn’t have the pace,” said a happy Piastri. “After the stop, I felt like I had extra grip and I had to go for it as if I didn’t get past at the start of the stint I never would. I went for a pretty big lunge, then clung on for 35 laps. Goes down as one of my better races of my career.

“Considering where we started when I joined the team last year, we were literally last, and now we are leading the championship. It’s a big thanks to the team for improving the car but improving myself as well.”

“I think as soon as we put the hard tires on – on the medium we were very competitive<‘ said Leclerc. “I really thought in one corner or two I would put it in the wall, it was very close. McLaren and Oscar did an exceptional job and were better for us. A great shame for Carlos, I hope everyone is okay and not a great day for the team.

“In the straights I couldn’t get as close as I wanted, and we lost the race when I didn’t quite defend as well as I could have, but it is how it is, sometimes you do mistakes and I will learn from it.”

Fernando Alonso was a quiet but efficient sixth, a great day for Williams sees Alex Albon in seventh and rookie Franco Colapinto in eighth.

Lewis Hamilton was an unlikely ninth after starting from pit lane, and rookie Oliver Bearman, subbing for Kevin Magnussen, grabbed a point to make him the first man to score points with two different teams in his first two races in F1.

F1 races have become very competitive, and this race was one of the best.  What a shame that F1 will ruin the close competition with all new cars and engines in 2026. With new cars and engines, at least one team will come out of the box and dominate.

The next race in one week’s time is the Singapore GP, one of Max Verstappen’s worse tracks, and it gives Lando Norris a big opportunity to gain big points on his title rival. The McLaren is a superior car to the Red Bull, and Norris is in a strong position to still win the Driver’s Title despite the 59 point gap.

2024 Azerbaijan GP Race Results – (Finish under Virtual Safety Car)