@OscarPiastri fends-off @CharlesLeclerc to take victory in thrilling #AzerbaijanGP. #F1

Piastri Azerbaijan GP Victory – McLaren’s Oscar Piastri held-off a charging Charles Leclerc to take victory in a thrilling Azerbaijan GP, which ended under a virtual safety car after a crash on the penultimate tour between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez. Mercedes George Russell completed the top three.

 

 

The result sees McLaren jump Red Bull in the World Constructor’s Championship by 20 points and Norris closes in on Verstappen’s gap in the driver’s standings to 59 points.

 

When the 51-lap Azerbaijan GP began, pole-sitter Leclerc got a solid start into turn one as Perez suffers a lock-up into the same corner and managed to get by Sainz for third in the following turn.

 

Verstappen also picked off Russell into the second corner.

 

At the end of the opening tour, Leclerc’s lead was at 1.004 over Piastri with Perez third, Sainz fourth as Verstappen completed the top five.

 

Further down the pack, 17^th-placed grid starter Lando Norris made a solid start and picked up two places then found another three to move up into turn by the beginning of the second lap. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll also pitted after suffering a puncture and put on a set of hards.

 

Norris made short work of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda with DRS assistance and a solid slip-stream on main straight on lap three and overtook the Japanese driver around the outside into turn one to take 11^th place.

 

DRS was enabled but race leader Leclerc could not drop Piastri with the latter keeping within the range of 0.792 seconds behind the Ferrari.

 

Replays showed the earlier incident with Tsunoda making contact with Stroll that caused the Canadian’s puncture as the RB driver squeezed the Aston Martin and the two tangled.

 

On the seventh lap, race leader Leclerc built his gap to Piastri up to 1.560 seconds with Perez a further 1.942 seconds off in third, Sainz holding fourth as championship leader Verstappen rounded out the top five runners.

 

Further back, 11^th-placed Norris got within DRS range of Haas F1 Team’s Oliver Bearman and down the main-straight made the move down the inside of his fellow British-compatriot into the opening corner to jump into the points-paying position of tenth.

 

Russell reported “I just saw a plastic bag go in my air box,” worrying the Briton who was currently running in sixth.

 

Lap 10 saw Leclerc’s lead increased up to 2.965 seconds with Perez a further 1.160 off in third, Sainz fourth as Verstappen completed the top five.

 

Behind them Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg passed his team-mate Oliver Bearman with a pass on the main-straight and DRS assistance into turn one to move up into 11^th place.

 

Meanwhile eighth-placed Franco Colapinto pitted for a fresh set of hards as Williams are pushing for an aggressive undercut strategy with the Argentine and emerged in 15^th place behind Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton who started in the pits for power-unit component changes.

 

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso reacted to Colapinto’s stop for his fresh set of hards and came out in-front of the Williams driver.

 

Championship leader Verstappen pitted from fifth place along with Russell for their sets of hards and 0rejoined in 10^th and 12^th respectively as Alpine’s Pierre Gasly split the duo.

 

Leclerc’s lead over Piastri continued to stretch with his gap up to 5.173 seconds over the McLaren driver.

 

On lap 14 with DRS assistance, Verstappen on the pit-straight made a move on his former team-mate Ricciardo into turn one to take tenth place.

 

Meanwhile, the Dutchman’s team-mate Perez stopped from third for his fresh set of hards and came out in sixth place behind Norris.

 

The 15^th tour saw Leclerc’s lead at 6.025 seconds over Piastri with Sainz third, Albon fourth as Norris completed the top five runners.

 

Second-placed Piastri pitted on the following tour for his fresh set of hards meanwhile on-track Perez made his away ahead of the Australian’s team-mate into turn one. Crucially Piastri ended up back on track in-front of the Red Bull.

 

On the 17^th lap, race leader Leclerc pitted for his fresh set of hards and came out behind his yet-to-pit team-mate Sainz.

 

Meanwhile, Albon was tucked right behind the Ferrari with both Piastri and Perez also in a four-car train.

 

Lap 18 saw Sainz come in for his fresh set of hards and re-joined in sixth place behind the yet-to-pit Norris.

 

Whilst the Spaniard stopped, Piastri on the main-straight crucially made his way ahead of Albon who is soon to stop and reclaimed second place.

 

In the fight for third, with DRS and fresher rubber, Perez flew in the slip-stream behind the Thai-Briton driver down the main-straight and made a move on the inside before turn one to snatch back third place.

 

In the battle for the lead with DRS assistance on the pit-straight, Piastri down the inside at turn one passed Leclerc. Leclerc tried to get by the McLaren on the back straight on the rundown to turn three, but the Australian managed to cover the Ferrari driver.

 

Once again, this time with DRS activated, Leclerc was tucked up right behind the McLaren, but Piastri covered the Monegasque driver to remain in the lead as Perez also came close into the fight for the lead.

 

Back out-front both Leclerc and Perez had DRS on each other as they got closer once more to race leader Piastri.

 

Meanwhile behind them Colapinto made his way into tenth place passing Gasly on the main-straight into turn one.

 

Leclerc got closer once again to Piastri with DRS on the main-straight, but the former managed to cover the Ferrari into the opening corner once more as behind them the other Ferrari of Sainz passed the yet-to-pit Norris for fifth place.

 

Piastri once again covered Leclerc into turn one as behind them, Sainz moved up into fourth place overtaking Albon.

 

Also a touch back, championship contenders Norris and Verstappen were battling hard as the latter ran into the run-off area at turn 15.

 

At half-race distance Piastri’s lead was at 0.751 seconds over Leclerc with Perez a further 1.096 seconds in third, Sainz fourth, Albon fifth, Norris sixth and Verstappen completing the top seven.

 

On lap 27, Leclerc had a look on Piastri, but still could not find a way through as further behind them Albon was still managing to keep both Norris and Verstappen at bay.

 

A tour later, Piastri still kept Leclerc behind meanwhile a bit further back, Russell was beginning to close in on the Albon, Norris and Verstappen train.

 

With DRS assistance, Leclerc was even closer this time, but still could not get ahead of the McLaren.

 

On the 30^th lap, Piastri once again kept Leclerc at bay with the gap at 0.400 seconds with Perez keeping close to the top two, Sainz was a distant fourth as Albon, Norris, Verstappen and Russell rounded out the top seven.

 

With 20 tours remaining, Leclerc once again applied the pressure on the Australian having a look on the outside, but Piastri just had those extra tenths over the Ferrari to keep a-hold of first place.

 

Albon finally made his stop on lap 32 for his fresh set of the C4 mediums releasing Norris and Verstappen and emerged in 11^th place behind Hulkenberg.

 

Out-front on lap 32, Piastri once more covered Leclerc into turn one and Perez was once gain brought back into play.

 

A tour later, the top three were all covered by 0.600 seconds of each other as further behind them, Russell made a move on the inside of Verstappen to jump into sixth place.

 

Leclerc was once again not close enough to make a move on race leader Piastri as behind them Hulkenberg managed to ahead of Colapinto as then the Argentine driver let his team-mate Albon through who was on fresher mediums through into tenth to fight with the Haas.

 

On the 38^th tour Norris pitted from fifth for his fresh set of the C4 mediums and came out in seventh place behind Verstappen.

 

On the 39^th lap, Leclerc once again had a look on Piastri, but the McLaren still kept the Monegasque driver at bay.

 

On the radio Leclerc reported that Piastri “was starting to struggle,” and his race engineer responded, “keep pushing.”

 

Piastri once again held off Leclerc into turn one and covered the Ferrari again into the second corner.

 

With ten tours remaining Leclerc continued to press the Australian, but race leader Piastri kept the Monegasque driver behind once more.

 

Once again, Piastri survived another lap holding the lead as Perez moved back into the fight for the victory.

 

Behind them, seventh-placed Norris was gaining over a second a lap on championship leader Verstappen.

 

Leclerc continued to apply the pressure on Piastri, but the Ferrari could still not get ahead of the McLaren.

 

Leclerc’s race engineer continued to encourage the Monegasque driver, Piastri, however was beginning to slide on his tyres as Sainz caught up to the front four to make it a fatal-four-way.

 

A lap later, Piastri dropped Leclerc to 1.7 seconds as the Ferrari began to fall into Perez’s clutches.

 

Leclerc’s reported his rear tyres hit the cliff as Perez was tucked right behind the Ferrari.

 

Piastri’s lead was up to two seconds as with DRS assistance Perez had a look on Leclerc, but the Mexican was kept at bay.

 

Behind them Norris on the main-straight with DRS assistance, swept passed championship-rival Verstappen to move up into sixth place.

 

Piastri’s gap was up to 3.460 seconds as behind them Perez got the slipstream and made a move on the outside to pass Leclerc into turn one, but the Ferrari made a late move back to remain in second place allowing Sainz to take third from the Mexican.

 

Out of turn two, Leclerc cleared the two as Sainz moved to cover Perez as they both collided and hit the wall together scattering debris all over the track.

 

The virtual safety car was called for the final two laps due to the collision.

 

Piastri crossed the line under the VSC to take the Azerbaijan GP victory ahead of Leclerc as Russell rounded out the top three.

 

Norris came home fourth and with the fastest lap bonus point, ahead of Verstappen who took fifth, and Aston Martin’s Alonso who placed sixth in the classification.

 

Albon and Colapinto scored Williams a solid double-points whole taking seventh and eighth respectively as Mercedes’ Hamilton and Haas’s Bearman completed the final points places.

 

Hulkenberg finished the Baku Grand Prix behind his team-mate in 11^th and in-front of Gasly who 12th and RB’s Ricciardo who settled for 13^th.

 

Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas were 14^th and at the rear whilst Alpine’s Ocon split the pairing in 15^th.

 

The collision involving Sainz and Perez is currently under investigation by the race stewards.

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2024 Azerbaijan GP – The Top Three

 

 

2024 Azerbaijan GP Winner – Oscar Piastri, #81, McLaren Formula 1 Team-Mercedes, MCL38 – 25 Points:

“I tried at the start to get in front, but once i dropped out of DRS I didn’t have the pace. 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.”

 

 

2^nd Place – Charles Leclerc, #16, Scuderia Ferrari, SF-24 – 18 Points:

“I think as soon as we put the hard tyres on – on the medium we were very competitive. 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.”

 

 

3^rd Place – George Russell, #63, Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team, F1 W15 – 15 Points:

“Definitely surprised, but glad to see Checo and Carlos were okay. On the hard tyre we were one of the quickest out there, got past Max and an added bonus to get the podium. [Hardest moment] was driving into a wall of dust and carbon fibre on the penultimate lap. Long old race and glad to be on the podium.”

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Formula 1 Qatar Airways Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2024 Race Results Classification (51 Laps)

 

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	51	1:32:58.007	25
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	51	+10.910s	18
3	63	George Russell	Mercedes	51	+31.328s	15
4	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	51	+36.143s	13
5	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	51	+77.098s	10
6	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	51	+85.468s	8
7	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	51	+87.396s	6
8	43	Franco Colapinto	Williams Mercedes	51	+89.541s	4
9	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	51	+92.401s	2
10	50	Oliver Bearman	Haas Ferrari	51	+93.127s	1
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas Ferrari	51	+93.465s	0
12	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	51	+117.189s	0
13	3	Daniel Ricciardo	RB Honda RBPT	51	+146.907s	0
14	24	Zhou Guanyu	Kick Sauber Ferrari	51	+148.841s	0
15	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	50	+1 lap	0
16	77	Valtteri Bottas	Kick Sauber Ferrari	50	+1 lap	0
17	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	49	DNF	0
18	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	49	DNF	0
19	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	45	DNF	0
NC	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB Honda RBPT	14	DNF	0
* Provisional results. Note – Norris scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.

https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/races/1245/azerbaijan/race-result

 

Click here for the 2024 Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructor’s Championship Standings

 

Round 18 of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship heads straight to the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore next weekend for the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024 from Friday September 20-Sunday September 22.

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#F1 #AzerbaijanGP Qualifying: @CharlesLeclerc storms to fourth-consecutive #BakuGP pole.

#F1 #AzerbaijanGP FP3: @GeorgeRussell63 pips @CharlesLeclerc by 0.013s. #BakuGP

#F1 #AzerbaijanGP FP2: @CharlesLeclerc pips @SChecoPerez by 0.006s. #BakuGP

#F1 #AzerbaijanGP FP1: @Max33Verstappen quickest as @CharlesLeclerc, #Colapinto crashes.

#F1 Qatar Airways #AzerbaijanGP 2024 Preview. #Formula1 #BakuGP