Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Piastri defeats Leclerc in Battle of Baku, marred by crash
F1 NewsSunday, 15 September 2024 at 20:10
Oscar Piastri triumphed in the titanic Battle of Baku, beating Charles Leclerc at a thrilling 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in a race-long fight between the McLaren and Ferrari drivers at Baku City Circuit on Sunday, which ended in dramatic fashion when Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez collided.
An incredible end to an enthralling race in which Sainz and Perez crashed into one another on the penultimate lap as they grappled for the podium.
Prior to that, it had been one of the cleanest races in memory, with no safety car or red flag as many (including us) until Sainz and Perez unleashed mayhem.
Leclerc and Piastri scurried into the lead off the line. They were the class of the rest. The McLaren driver stalked the Ferrari all the way. On Lap 20, Piastri took the lead from Leclerc with a brilliant move. Thereafter he held on to the lead as Leclerc threw everything at the young Aussie.
But Piastri delivered a masterclass in defensive driving; clean and precise, he thwarted several massive attacks from Leclerc for his second, and probably sweetest Grand Prix victory as it was done purely on merit.
Race winner Piastri summed up his victory: "After the stop it felt like we had a bit of extra grip and I had to go for it, I knew if I didn't get past at the start of the stint I was never going to get past. I went for a pretty big lunge but I managed and then hung on for dear life for the next laps.
Once he dropped out of DRS it was a little bit more relaxing but there's no relaxing lap around here. It definitely goes down as one of the better races of my career," reckoned the 23-year-old Australian.
On his part, Leclerc could not have done more.
Leclerc gave it several big shots at the lead, his role in making this into an epic GP was unmistakable. It might've been P2 and P3 for Ferrari but fate had other plans for Sainz who delivered a solid race until the contact.
Leclerc reflected in parc ferme: "I think as soon as we put the hard tyres on [I knew we couldn't win]," says Charles Leclerc. "The medium tyres felt good, but unfortunately we didn't do any high fuel running on my side in FP1 and FP2 and we went for a setup direction that maybe in the race was a bit more difficult to manage.
"Especially on the hard tyres I was struggling to keep those rears and at the end I thought in one corner or two I could put it in the wall, it was very close. McLaren and Oscar have done an exceptional job and done better than us. A huge shame for Carlos on the last laps, hopefully everyone is OK and obviously not a great day for the team," added Leclerc.
In the end, P3 went to George Russell who was a big winner when Sainz and Perez took themselves out and threw away P3 and P4 in the process. The Mercedes driver stayed out of trouble and was rewarded with an unexpected podium celebration.
Russell: I'm glad everyone is OK
Russell said in parc ferme: "We had a really bad start to the race but on the hard tyre I think we were one of the quickest out there, got past Max and then an added bonus is finishing on the podium. I was surprised the Safety Car didn't come out sooner at the end, those cars could have been anywhere. I'm glad everyone is OK."
The Perez-Sainz incident will be much debated, an unnecessary last-lap racing incident between two veteran who should've known better. Theirs the only crash in an otherwise extremely impressive no-incident-GP at the very incident-prone venue.
By eliminating themselves, they promoted everyone behind them from P5, up two places.
Norris started from P15 on the Hard Pirelli tyre and made up three places on lap one and was soon making more progress. Having passed Yuki Tsunoda, he cruised past compatriot Oliver Bearman – on his first full weekend in F1 – to move into the top 10 within eight laps.
Verstappen vs Norris
The title challenge between Norris and Verstappen played out on track as the Briton, yet to pit, defended fiercely to keep the Dutchman at bay.
Verstappen complained of a brake issue as he cut the corner and was unable to get through as Norris was aided by DRS from Alex Albon ahead of him. The Red Bull driver was P5.
Fernando Alonso was P6 for Aston Martin on a day his teammate had another woedul afternoon, while Alexander Albon took P7 for Williams, followed home by rookie teammate Franco Colapinto who took P8 in only his second GP start.
Colpainto became the first Argentinian driver to score points since Carlos Reutemann in 1982. The driver he replaced at Williams last month, American Logan Sargeant, hadn’t scored a point this season.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was ninth after starting the race from the pit lane due to changing car parts ahead of the race in Baku. But it was a lacklustre afternoon for the seven-time F1 World Champion.
19-year-old Oliver Bearman, like Colapinto, also in his second career F1 race was P10 as a stand-in at Haas for the suspended Kevin Magnussen, beating his far more experienced teammate Nico Hulkenberg.
With Piastri's victory and Norris P4 points haul, McLaren lead the F1 Constructors Championship for the first time in two decades. Verstappen's lead in the F1 Drivers' standings over Norris is down to 59 with seven GP weekends remaining.
2024 F1 World Championship Standings
2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Result
How the Azerbaijan Grand Prix unfolded:
All on Pirelli yellow-band Mediums in the Top 13 except Albon on white-band Hards, others include Ricciardo, Norris, Zhou, Gasly and Ocon. The latter started behind Hamilton from the pitlane
Very clean start despite some ultra-close and intense racing.
Lap 2: Norris is the highest climber up to P12. Hamilton from pit lane up to P17. Leclerc leads with Paistri in DRS and P3 Perez a second behind the McLaren, having taken Sainz.
Lap 3. Stroll pits with a puncture after contact with Tsunoda, the vCARB driver drops down the order with an apparent issue.
Lap 4: Leclerc chased by Piastri the pair edging 2.5s gap to Perez in P3. Norris up to P11, getting by Hulkenberg and Ricciardo with ease. Hamilton up to P15 and chasing Gasly.
Lap 6: Leclerc stalked by Piastri, both flying at the front, trading fastest laps with the McLaren within a second of the Ferrari. Gap to Perez in P3 is 3,3s. Behind him a stalemate in the points-paying positions.
Lap 8: Norris gets past Bearman with ease. Smart driving from the Haas rookie, staying a fight that was not his to have.
Lap 9: Leclerc edging ahead with a flurry of fastest laps. The gap to Piastri 2.6s.. Perez 1.4s adrift in P3.
Lap 10. Top Ten:
Lap 10: Bearman pulls over for Hulkenberg, ceding P10 to his Haas teammate.
Lap 11: Colapinto is first to stop (apart from Stroll's puncture) for Hards. Emerges P15. Verstappen in P5 not happy with the car's balance.
Lap 12: Leclerc leads Piastri by 4.0s with Perez a couple seconds further adrift. Alonso and Bottas in the pits.
Lap 13: Verstappen, Hamilton and Russell box for Hards. Albon and Norris on Hards, up to P5 and P6. The top four all yet to stop on Mediums. At the front, Leclerc lapping a second per lap faster than Paistri
Lap 14: Perez boxes and emerges P6 highest of the runners with a stop in the bank.
Lap 15: Norris gets call to hold up Perez.
Lap 16: Piastri pits from P2 and emerges ahead of the Red Bull. Very close. Thanks Lando! Tsunoda retires his war-torn VCARB.
Lap 17: Leclerc boxes from the lead. Sainz leads but has yet to stop. Ditto Albon in P3.
Lap 18: Leclerc's gap to Piastri is down to 1.2s. Sainz pits from P1 and emerges P6 ahead of Verstappen. Albon P3, Norris P5 and Gasly P10 yet to stop among the top ten. Piastri gets past Albon for P2, with Perez following shortly thereafter.
Lap 20. Lap 20:
Lap 20: Piastri takes the lead from Leclerc with a brilliant move. The Ferrari chases the McLaren, enthralling stuff at the front. Yet to stop Albon, Norris, Gasly, Ricciardo, Zhou and Ocon.
Lap 21: Piastri leads, Perez all over the back of Leclerc. 1.2s between the top three. The Ferrari driver complains over the radio: "They are pushing like crazy, or they have more grip than us."
Lap 23: Sainz overtakes Norris for P5. The McLaren is yet to box. Ditto Albon in P4.
Lap 24: Verstappen attacking Norris. Gets very close between the two 2024 F1 title contenders. Hamilton struggling down in P14.
Lap 25: Pace at the front between the leading trio is impressive, Piastri chased hard by Leclerc with Perez watching the battle for P1. Sainz in P4 is ten seconds behind.
Lap 26: Albon and Norris yet to stop and Verstappen on fresher rubber running nose to tail in the battle for P5. Russell edging towards the trio.
Lap 30. Top Ten:
Lap 31: The battle at the front is mighty. Piastri defending impeccably from the DRS boosted Ferrari into Turn 1 lap after lap. And again on the back straight. Leclerc throwing everything at nabbing the lead. Alpon P5 and Norris P6 yet to stop. Verstappen on fresher rubber no way past the pair. Sainz running in no man's land in P4.
Lap 32. Piastri, Leclerc and Perez are still all within 1.7s. Albon boxes from P5.
Lap 33: Piastri thwarts a huge attack by Leclerc into Turn 1 and Turn 2. A masterclass in defensive driving from the young McLaren driver.
Lap 34: Russell, after harrying Verstappen for P6, takes it with relative ease.
Lap 36: Big battle for final three points-paying position with Alonso, Hulkenberg, Albon, Colapinto and Bearman. Hamilton behind them all in P13.
Lap 38: Norris in the pits for his first stop emerges P7 15.0s behind Verstappen ahead n P6. Albon also a late stopper comes out in P9.
Lap 40. Top Ten:
Lap 41: Another big attack by Leclerc on leader Norris. No avail, the McLaren covers every gap. A game of cat and mouse in this Battle of Baku.
Lap 42: Top four are all in the picture. Sainz in P4 closing in on Perez who was catching the leaders as they battled, with backmarkers on the radar. Norris in P7 setting fastest laps.
Lap 45: Another attack goes begging as Piastri holds on to P1 with superb racecraft as Leclerc flings everything at him Turn 1. Verstappen on ageing Hards reeled in by a second per lap by Norris on fresh Mediums. Three seconds separate the top four.
Lap 46: Leader Piastri scraping walls holding on to his lead. Perez now in Leclerc's DRS. Sainz a second adrift. Last-placed Stroll in the pits.
Lap 48: Norris edges the lead to two seconds. Perez attacking Leclerc whose tyres are done with Sainz reeling them both in. Norris checks out.
Preview Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Piastri vs Ferrari with all to play for in Baku
"It's all to play for," declared Formula 1 World Champion Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and the Red Bull boss is correct ahead of today's Azerbaijan Grand Prix at Baku City Circuit.
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Note: This preview will be replaced by the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix race report, results, quotes etc after the race in Baku. Please refresh this post for the latest version. Enjoy the Race!
Penalties on Saturday in Baku means a markedly different grid to the order shown on the timesheets at the end of Qualifying. They affect Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and both Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.
Ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Horner knows his outfit are a shadow of what they were last year at this time. The Red Bull RB20 which won seven of this year's opening GPs with Max Verstappen, is winless since Spain in June.
Meanwhile, the chasing trio of McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes have not only caught up in the performance stakes, but at this stage, the Red Bulls may well be at the bottom of the pecking order between the quartet.
Despite Charles Leclerc's three-tenths advantage in qualifying on Saturday, the Ferrari driver is a one-lap specialist around Baku. If he doesn’t bin it, he wins it - just like he did on Saturday. However, in his three previous consecutive pole position starts, Leclerc has never converted them into victories on the city's streets.
Neither have Ferrari, for that matter. Can they do it on their fourth occasion starting from P1? With the form they showed at Monza, which sets the benchmark for how Ferrari can perform under Fred Vasseur, this is their Grand Prix to lose.
Ferrari could not only win as a one-two is also on the cards
With Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari starting P3 and showing handy pace, a one-two could even be on the cards. Their victory at Monza will surely inspire them, but they'll have to contend with Oscar Piastri and his McLaren.
The audacious young Australian is undeniably fast. So much so, he seems to have Lando Norris rattled—or if not, Norris has rattled himself. Piastri powered to P2 in qualifying, while Norris slipped up in Q1, hindered by yellow flags on his last hot lap. The Englishman, currently P2 in the championship standings, starts from P15.
Narrowing the gap at the top of the standings by beating 2023 F1 World Championship leader Max Verstappen is going to be a very tough ask for Norris this afternoon.
Having said that, expect red flags. Expect safety cars. This is Baku, and the attrition we saw in practice—where a number of drivers put it in the wall—makes it hard to imagine an incident-free race. A huge shunt on the start line in the Formula 2 race earlier in the day is a further testament to that.
Should he survive the argy-bargy, the deeper Norris is in the field, the more likely safety cars or stoppages will play into his hands. He does have a race-winning car under him.
Strategy will be key in the 51-lap race
Decisive pit stops, reading the incidents, when to stop, when not to stop? All factors sure to be the difference between winning and losing today in Baku.
Beyond Piastri and the Ferraris, you’ve got Sergio Perez in P4, out-qualifying Verstappen for the first time this season. The Mexican veteran enjoys Baku and is a two-time winner here. Expect him to be trying to make amends for what has been a poor season thus far.
Verstappen, as always, is a contender in any circumstances. However, the race pace of the Red Bull RB20 in its new guise will be interesting to see, as this dip in form appears unabated. Coincidentally or not, things have been crumbling since Adrian Newey decided to quit the team. Nothing has worked for the reigning champs since then. They have a new floor body this weekend which to improve the car a bit, will that translate in the race?
Mercedes sort of in the hunt
Expect George Russell, who line up nose to tail in P5, to feature. It’s not quite the Mercedes that took them to victories earlier this season, but Hamilton especially can be relied on to pull something special out during the race.
But starting from the back after a PU-related penalty will be challenging even for the seven-time F1 Champion. Incident-prone Russell will need to stay out of trouble to feature on the podium.
Also in the mix is Fernando Alonso, once again making Lance Stroll look very, very ordinary. The veteran Spaniard will line up his Aston Martin in P8.
Sensational F1 rookies Franco Colapinto in the Williams (P9) and Oliver Bearman, substituting for Kevin Magnussen at Haas (P11), both in only their second GP weekend, have out-qualified their vastly more experienced teammates. Alex Albon will line up in P10, while Nico Hulkenberg will start in P14.
The winner of today’s 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix could realistically be any of the top seven drivers on the grid. All will feel they have a shot, and all will go for it. As Horner said: “It’s all to play for.”
Other interesting sideshows to watch:
- Will the rookies beat the veterans?
- Tsunoda vs. Ricciardo - who comes out on top?
- Watch those Alpines. Pierre Gasly DQ-ed. Flavio Briatore is back, and will they get busted for cheating? Coincidence? Crashgate?
- Who puts it in the wall first? Could be any of them! Let’s see.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix Facts & Statistics by Reuters
- Round 17 of the 24 race 2024 F1 World Championship
- Baku City Circuit
- Lap distance: 6.003 km. Total distance: 306.049km (51 laps)
- 2023 pole position: Charles Leclerc (Monaco) Ferrari one minute 40.203 seconds
- 2023 winner: Sergio Perez (Mexico) Red Bull
- Race lap record: Leclerc, 1:43.009. Ferrari, 2019
- Start time: 1100GMT (1500 local)
- The street circuit, with fast straights and a winding section through the old town, made its debut in 2016 as the European Grand Prix.
- The name changed in 2017, when the race was held in June. There was no race in 2020 due to COVID-19.
- Red Bull's Sergio Perez is the only repeat winner in seven races in Baku and Mercedes and Red Bull are the only teams to have won there, with
Red Bull the most successful. - Perez won in 2021 and 2023, was second in 2022 and also finished third for Force India in 2016 and 2018.
- Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo and Perez are the only current drivers to have won there.
- Only two of the races have been won from pole (Nico Rosberg in 2016 and Bottas in 2019) and three from the front row. Ricciardo won for Red
Bull from 10th on the grid in 2017 and Perez from sixth in 2021.
2024 Formula 1 World Championship Standings
- Verstappen leads McLaren's Lando Norris by 62 points after 16 races.
- Red Bull are eight ahead of McLaren in the constructors' championship.
Grand Prix Victories
- Seven times world champion Hamilton has a record 105 career victories from 348 starts, Verstappen has 61 from 201.
- Four teams -- Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes -- have won this season, the most since 2021 when Red Bull, Mercedes, Alpine and
McLaren won. - Seven different drivers have triumphed, the most in a single season since 2012 when there were eight.
- Red Bull have gone six races without a win -- Verstappen's longest losing streak since 2020.
- Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari have all won three times this season while Red Bull's Verstappen has won seven.
- Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was triumphant in Melbourne, Norris in Miami and the Netherlands, Leclerc in Monaco and Italy, Mercedes's George
Russell in Spain, Hamilton in Britain and Belgium and McLaren's Oscar Piastri in Hungary. - Red Bull have won 120 races and are fourth in the all-time list. Ferrari lead with 246, McLaren have 186 and Mercedes 128.
Pole Positions & Podiums
- Leclerc has had four poles in Baku (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024), the most by any driver.
- Verstappen has had eight poles so far this year. That includes the first seven of the season, equalling Alain Prost's 1993 record, and eight in a row including the last race of 2023 - equalling Ayrton Senna's 1988-89 record.
- The Dutch driver was last on pole in Austria in June.
- Leclerc took pole in Monaco, Belgium and now Baku, Russell was fastest in Canada and Britain. Norris took the top spot in Spain, Hungary, the
Netherlands and Italy. - Norris has been on pole in three of the last four races.
- Hamilton has a record 104 career poles, his most recent in Hungary in July 2023.
- Verstappen has 108 career podiums, Hamilton a record 201.
- Verstappen and Norris have both been on the podium 10 times this season, Leclerc eight, Sainz and Piastri five.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix Milestones
- McLaren can take the lead in the constructors' championship this weekend.
- Oliver Bearman stands in for the second time this season, on this occasion with Haas as replacement for the suspended Kevin Magnussen.Magnussen is the first driver to be banned since Romain Grosjean in 2012.
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