Piastri skips late drama to win 2024 F1 Azerbaijan GP

• McLaren’s Oscar Piastri won the 2024 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
• The win means McLaren now leads the Constructors’ Champion
• Reigning world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing still leads the Drivers’ Championship

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri drove superbly on Sunday to take victory in the 2024 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

It was the McLaren driver’s second career win and with the points scored for the team, it means McLaren now has overtaken Red Bull Racing to lead the 2024 Constructors’ Championship.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished in second place at the race held at Azerbaijan’s Baku City Circuit, while rounding out the top three was Mercedes-Benz AMG’s George Russell.

Initially, it looked like Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was going to pass Leclerc in the closing stages and secure second place, but a crash with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz knocked both drivers out. The race was then ended under the virtual safety car.

Leclerc started the race on pole, with Piastri joining him on the front row. Behind them were Sainz and Perez. Leclerc made a great start and controlled the race early on. He made a pit stop on lap 16 but was soon passed by Piastri who would lead for the rest of the race. Leclerc ended up chasing Piastri over the next 30 laps while attempting to hold off Perez who at the same time was holding off Sainz.

With Leclerc on aging tires, it looked like Perez was going to overtake him on the penultimate lap to move into second, but a failed overtake at Turn 2 enabled Sainz to catch up to Perez. Sainz and Perez were side by side going into Turn 3, with Sainz just slightly ahead. However, Sainz in an attempt to catch the slipstream of Leclerc then moved into the path of Perez and the two crashed into a wall, ending the race for both.

This enabled Russell to move up and claim third ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Further back was reigning world champion and current points leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing, who had another slow day, finishing in fifth place.

One of the highlights of the day was Williams’ rookie Franco Colapinto who scored his first points in only his second F1 race. He started the race in eighth place and finished in the same position. Colapinto replaced U.S. driver Logan Sargeant at Williams at the previous round in Italy and will drive with Williams for the remainder of the season. Oliver Bearman, who sat in for a banned Kevin Magnussen, also finished a respectable 10th. Bearman will also take over Magnussen’s seat at Haas next season.

Following the weekend’s action, Verstappen leads the 2024 Drivers’ Championship with 313 points. Norris is second with 254 points and Leclerc is third with 235 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, McLaren now leads with 476 points. Red Bull leads with 456 and Ferrari is third with 425 points.

The next race on the calendar is the Singapore Grand Prix on Sept. 22.