Oscar Piastri wins Azerbaijan Grand Prix after dramatic crash between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez
Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez crashed into each other at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Oscar Piastri won the event in Baku
SKY
Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez crashed into each other at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Oscar Piastri won the event in Baku.
Charles Leclerc went into the event on pole after impressing in qualifying but Piastri was hot on his heels right from the beginning of the race.
In the closing stages, four men were in contention to claim victory.
But a crash betwen Sainz and Perez paved the way for Piastri to claim his second victory of the season following his triumph in Hungary earlier in the campaign.
Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez crashed into each other at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Oscar Piastri won the event in Baku
SKY
Piastri came from a long way back to overtake Leclerc and produced one of the best performances of his career.
Speaking on the team radio after his victory, the Australian admitted it had been a 'stressful' afternoon.
"That was probably the most stressful afternoon of my life," he remarked.
With the crash between Perez and Sainz taking place late on, it meant Leclerc was able to finish second - with George Russell in third.
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Lando Norris claimed fourth, with Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, Franco Colapinto, Lewis Hamilton and Oliver Bearman making up the rest of the top 10.
Regarding the crash, stewards are set to investigate the matter.
Leclerc admitted he was disappointed to miss out on victory, having previously secured pole for the fourth time in Baku.
"It's not what we wanted," he admitted. "We were struggling so much more with the car on hard tyres."
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The victory will mean the world to Piastri, who has impressed with his performances this season.
It is McLaren's first ever win in Baku - and their first podium too.
They are now leading Red Bull when it comes to the Constructors' Championship, with Christian Horner's side continuing to struggle.
Verstappen continues to lack the speed of years gone by - and his fifth-placed finish will do little to put a smile back on the Dutchman's face.
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Oscar Piastri was delighted after winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday
REUTERS
Leclerc, speaking after the race, lavished praise on Piastri and admitted he always felt he was destined to miss out on the win.
"I think as soon as we put the hard tyres on [I knew we couldn't win]," he said.
"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.
Oscar Piastri managed to successfully overtake Charles Leclerc as he won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
REUTERS
"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.
"I think maybe McLaren had less downforce and in the straights they were very quick.
"I couldn't get as close as I wanted and eventually we lost the race when I didn't defend as well as I could have at the end of the straight. Sometimes you make mistakes and I'll learn from it."