PIASTRY Wins 2024 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix by Winning Late-Day Drama
McLaren's Oscar Piatri won the 2024 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix with a brilliant drive. [McLaren overtook Red Bull Racing to take the top spot in the 2024 constructors' championship.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished second in the race at Azerbaijan's Baku City Circuit, with Mercedes-Benz AMG's George Russell rounding out the top three.
Initially, it appeared that Red Bull's Sergio Perez would pass Leclerc for second place in the closing laps, but a crash with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz forced both drivers to retire. The race ended under the safety car.
Leclerc started the race from pole position, with Piastri also on the front row. Sainz and Perez followed close behind. Leclerc got a good start and controlled the race from the beginning, making a pit stop on lap 16, but was soon passed by Piastri. Leclerc chased Piastri for the next 30 laps, but at the same time Perez was holding off Sainz.
Leclerc, who was on aging tires, was passed by Perez on the final lap and looked to be moving into second place, but Sainz caught up to Perez after a failed overtake in turn 2. In turn 3, Sainz and Perez went side-by-side, with Sainz slightly ahead. However, in an attempt to catch Leclerc in the slipstream, Sainz moved into the path of Perez and the pair crashed into the wall, ending the race.
This allowed Russell to move up the order and take third place ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris. Further back was reigning world champion and current points leader Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing).
One of the highlights of the day was Williams rookie Franco Colapinto scoring his first points in only his second race in F1, starting the race in 8th and finishing in the same position. Colapinto will drive for Williams for the remainder of the season, replacing American driver Logan Sargent at the last round in Italy.
After this weekend, Verstappen leads the 2024 drivers' championship with 313 points. Norris is second with 254 points and Leclerc is third with 235 points. McLaren leads the Constructors' Championship with 476 points. Red Bull leads with 456 points and Ferrari is third with 425 points.
The next race is the Singapore Grand Prix on September 22.
