McLaren's Oscar Piastri will start the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the front row of the grid, although he did not have enough to challenge Charles Leclerc in qualifying he is "definitely" going to go for it his second Formula 1 win.
Piastri came close at Monza, he might have won it had McLaren done their maths. And Ferrari not being as excellent as they were. Expect the same momentum from the Reds in Baku on Sunday.
Notably, Piastri won't have to play the team game because his McLaren teammate (2024 F1 title contender) Lando Norris is starting way down the order after a woeful qualifying session, which saw him eliminated in Q1 and for the first time, he was not involved in the Q3 shootout this year.
With that in mind, when asked if victory was on the cards despite being surrounded on the grid by the Ferrari duo, Piastri was adamant: "Definitely!"
If ever there is a chance for the precocious Australian 23-year-old will become Formula 1's next winner. He has seven podiums on his stats sheet, but never the top step. His chances are as good as it gets from P2 on the grid.
Reflecting on a tense Qualy session in Baku on Saturday, Piastri said: "I got a little bit close to the walls on the last lap; just tried to get the most out of it. This track rewards commitment and the last lap in Q3, I knew I had a little less to lose, so just tried to maximise the car. It was feeling good all the way through; just didn't maximise it enough in the first part of qualifying but I'm very happy with Q3."
As for his 39th GP start, Piastri predicted: "Following around here is really tough, we saw yesterday, it was pretty tough once you get behind someone, hopefully get some clean air, which will be good. We'll see what we can do. I think our race pace is good, but again, the Ferraris are certainly not slow."
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