Oscar Piastri wins Azerbaijan GP as Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez crash out in thrilling climax

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Lando Norris recovered from his qualifying disaster by pulling off a late overtake on Max Verstappen to further cut the title lead as Oscar Piastri won a pulsating Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The British driver started from 15th as Verstappen lined up sixth but Norris pulled off a superb drive to make his tyres last before easing past the struggling Dutchman with three laps to go.
Norris finished fourth and took three points out of Verstappen’s title lead, which now stands at 59 points with seven races remaining.
Piastri claimed his second Formula One victory after passing pole-sitter Charles Leclerc with a thrilling move and holding off the Ferrari driver for the rest of the race to take the win.
Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz suffered a dramatic late crash as McLaren took over the lead of the constructors’ championship.
The stewards will look at that incident now but I cannot see it being anyone but Sainz’s fault. He drove brilliantly all weekend in a way that Verstappen was just not able to. Yet he goes home with zero points. 
Red Bull deposed for the first time this season and… well, when was the last time they didn’t lead the constructors? At the start of 2022?
I tried at the start to get in front but once I dropped out of the race I just didn’t have the pace. After the stop I saw we were pretty close again and I felt like we had a little bit of extra grip and I had to go for it because I knew that if I didn’t get past at the start of the stint I was never going to get past, so went for a pretty big lunge but managed to pull it off and hung on for dear life for the next 34 laps. 
The next couple of laps once he dropped out of DRS were a little bit more relaxing. But there’s no such thing as a relaxing lap around here. It was hard work but that definitely goes down as one of the better races in my career. 
Considering where we started when I joined the team last year, we were literally last and now we are leading the world championship, so it’s full credit to the team for the turnaround we’ve managed to have in my 18 months here. Firstly in improving the car but also helping me improve as well. Results like this definitely weren’t possible 12 months ago for myself. It’s a massive team effort an excited to see what the future holds. 
59 points the gap with seven rounds and three sprints remaining. 8.43 is the magic number for Norris, the amount of points he needs to take out of Verstappen to take the title, assuming Leclerc doesn’t do something extraordinary. Another missed opportunity for Norris here you have to say, even though Sunday was much better than Saturday. 
Oscar being Oscar on that race winning radio 😅 pic.twitter.com/nMHinDBCE0
He has been in fine form recently, arguably matching Norris. The time may still come for him to need to move over for Norris but I guess that might feel a little better with two wins under his belt rather than one. Or maybe not. Four wins for McLaren this year now. 
What would the difference have been without that crash? Well, Norris would have been sixth and Verstappen seventh. Well, the gap would have been two but Verstappen would have surely claimed the fastest lap point meaning Norris would have just taken one point from his lead, not two. 
[On] the medium we were very competitive and the car felt good. Unfortunately we didn’t do any high-fuel running on my side and we went for a set-up direction that was difficult to manage. I thought that in one corner or two I thought that I would put it on the wall. 
Second today… it’s obviously a huge shame for Carlos on the last lap. Not, obviously, a great day for the team. It is enjoyable [to drive in races like this] because you have many opportunities every lap. 
I think maybe McLaren had a little bit less downforce so on the straights they were quick, maybe in the corners we were a bit quicker. In the straights I couldn’t get as close as I wanted. We lost the race where I didn’t quite defend as well as I should have at the end of the straight but it is what it is. 
Surprised, glad to see Carlos and Checo okay. I think there was so much hard work for everybody this weekend… we had a really bad start to the race, I was dropping off a lot. On the hard tyre I think we were one of the quickest. Got past Max and an added bonus to get on the podium. It was a long old race and glad to be on the podium. We’ve got to be realistic, we should have finished fifth today that was the true result… I don’t want to get carried away with this result, we’ve got a lot of work to do. 
A double points finish for Williams and a point for Bearman. Well done. Norris takes three points out of Verstappen’s championship lead which is now down to 59 points. I think they will take that after yesterday but a lot more was on offer but for bad luck in qualifying, I guess. 
SAINZ AND PEREZ CRASH OUT! 💥 pic.twitter.com/MfXCoZeLVN
Well done everyone. That was probably the most stressful afternoon of my life. Thank you very much for the car. What a day that was. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
A truly brilliant final stint in a truly brilliant win. No questions over this victory, like there was after his win in Hungary. Leclerc second for Ferrari as he fails again to convert pole into a win in Baku. Russell third, Lando Norris in fourth and Verstappen fifth. Norris gets the bonus point. McLaren take the constructors’ title lead. 
“What the f—. Is he crazy or what? F—– idiot!” Perez says on the radio. 
“What happened there? What happened,” Sainz says, confused. I am not sure he saw Perez in his mirrors. 
Virtual Safety Car has been deployed and that is surely how this race will end. 
Here’s the new order: 
Verstappen pitted for fresh softs in an attempt to claim the fastest lap point but as the race will end under the SC that point will go to his rival Lando Norris. 
Leclerc forces Perez wide and that means Sainz gets third behind Leclerc…  but Perez comes back and the pair collide, somehow, on the second straight and go into the wall! Wow! They are both out. 
It’s yellow flags and will surely be a safety car. Verstappen has pitted. 
He keeps the lead. Norris gets Verstappen for sixth… Norris currently has the fastest lap point too but I think now Verstappen has lost that place he can stop with Alonso miles behind him. 
LAP 49/51NORRIS GETS PAST VERSTAPPEN! The McLaren’s damage limitation exercise is complete! ✅#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/EinAM8qoQ5
This is what F1 should be. We never had any idea we’d have races like this six months ago. Leclerc says he has no rear tyres and he is now struggling immensely. Leclerc might not even make it onto the podium at this rate. Norris is now almost within DRS range of Verstappen…
Piastri now leads by 2.4sec and is surely heading to his second race win. Leclerc has a job on his hands to keep second and maybe even third, depending on what Sainz does. 
Norris will have DRS on Verstappen on the pit straight…
Leclerc no longer within DRS range but Leclerc has Perez right behind him. Is that the race win?
Sainz is now only 1.3sec behind Perez…
Leclerc just cannot get close enough to try a convincing move. Piastri seems to have his number and 28 laps in the dirty air will not have helped his chances here. 
Norris now within five seconds of Verstappen, with five laps to go. Hmmm. 
It’s not enough… again. Leclerc is running out of opportunities so will, I assume, just give it everything here. 
The leaders are about to hit traffic of the backmarkers… can Piastri hold on and take the victory that evaded him a fortnight ago in Monza? He is looking good at the moment. Perez drops back a bit again. Sainz only two seconds behind him. 
Verstappen’s lead over Norris is down to under seven seconds…
Sainz is closing up on this battle though a four-way fight for the lead might be a bit much. 
Norris takes 1.5sec out of Verstappen ahead to reduce the Dutchman’s advantage to just 8.8sec…
Norris chasing down Verstappen on fresh tyres: pic.twitter.com/VqTTDEQsaY
Replays show both Piastri and Leclerc getting sideways with their rear on the kerb at turn 16. They are pushing hard. 
Again Piastri defends to the inside but Leclerc cannot make the move stick. The McLaren has the traction out of turn one and the brakes into it to keep the lead. This is a thriller. Tense. 
Norris takes another 1.3sec out of Verstappen and the gap down to 11.6sec with 11 laps left. A tense time for both cars. 
Meanwhile, Norris takes out 1.4sec from Verstappen’s advantage in the first two sectors alone. 
“Lando, imagine Andrea on your shoulder saying ‘zero wheelspin’ every exit,” comes the message to Norris. 
Leclerc is as close as he has been for several laps into turn one…
“Not stupid,” he says. Or was it “that’s stupid”? Not sure what that is. Stopping again, I assume. Perez now 2.5sec behind Leclerc whilst the Ferrari is eternally within DRS range of leader Piastri. 
That is just one place but 15.4sec behind Verstappen. Can he make that up in the remaining laps? I am going to say they will be very close by the end of the race, unless Verstappen pits again. 
Norris now has 22.6 sec to Alonso so I suspect will come into the pits soon. 
Top 10 and gaps: 
He is building a pit gap to Alonso and Colapinto and should be there soon. Piastri still defending brilliantly from Leclerc behind. Perez has lost touch a bit with Leclerc, now 1.5sec behind the Ferrari. Leclerc loses the rear end at turn 16, leaving tyre marks on the kerb. 
A brief yellow flag in sector one…
Leclerc told “box opposite McLaren” but Piastri stays out… and so does Leclerc. Not really, then. 
LAP 36/51″Box opposite McLaren.” 📻Ferrari give Leclerc his orders – but he follows Piastri round for another lap! Was that a bluff, a double bluff, a triple bluff, or something else? 😅#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/nGlClKZL4x
Perez is right there too. Piastri told his tyres look in better shape than Leclerc’s. Leclerc will have no doubt been harmed by being in the dirty air all this time. 
He is now down to seventh. Norris has decent pace now he is in clean air. He should carry a significant tyre advantage into the final stint, then. He will need to make several track positions in that stint. Could he even finish ahead of Verstappen? Not sure. 
Nope! Piastri again defends robustly by taking the inside line into turn one and then out of turn one. It’s fantastic and tight battling. Perez is now closing up on Leclerc so the Ferrari may have to worry more about what is behind him rather than what is in front. Verstappen complains of no rear grip. He hasn’t been in the same league as Perez this weekend and that is a rare occurence. 
Top six: 
Perez not being dropped from this group yet. Albon finally comes into the pits as Verstappen battles with Russell. 
Norris is told “this is our time”. Clean air before he dives into the pits. 
He thinks about a move and Piastri has to defend and does so successfully. 
Norris is told to stay out despite not being able to get past Albon. Leclerc told to keep it “nice and tidy”. 
Perez 1.2sec further behind. Still Norris holds up Verstappen, though Norris is in turn being held up by Albon. A tough race for Lando. 
Piastri takes the inside line at turn one as Leclerc has to go around the outside but he cannot make the move stick. The McLaren under a lot of pressure here now. Perez is still knocking around but is no longer within DRS range of Leclerc. 
LAP 29/51Now Leclerc tries a move for the lead!! Piastri reads it and covers the inside, and the Ferrari has to concede on the outside into Turn 1. Thrilling stuff, this! 🙌#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/sj9qJatGtS
“Are you seeing how I have to drive this thing,” says Hamilton down in 14th. 
Verstappen seems to be managing to slow his car down for the corners so I whatever he is doing is negating the brake issue. A fascinating battle for first between Piastri, Leclerc and Perez and then for fifth with Albon, Norris and Verstappen. 
Leclerc seems to be closer than Piastri as they enter the final sector… he is. Leclerc gets DRS…
He still cannot find a way past. Norris is closing up on Albon but cannot find a way through. Verstappen is right behind him too. Norris losing time here and must be praying for a safety car. Mind you, that would not put him ahead of Albon, who is also on the same strategy. 
He is within DRS range of Norris but this brake issue seemingly is just keeping him far enough behind the McLaren to make an overtake difficult. 
Here’s the top 10 and gaps: 
Norris and Albon yet to stop. 
Potentially a big one. “My brakes are not working”. I don’t think he means they are failing but are not working exactly as he’d like. Yeah. You can see that from the replay of that incident where he went to the inside of the corner, over the run-off, as he couldn’t slow the car down enough to avoid hitting Norris. 
It’s for sixth but Norris is doing a great job blocking him. And why shouldn’t he? I am sure Verstappen will say something over the radio but Verstappen should get him on the pit straight without too much bother. 
Max ⚔️ Lando It’s getting tight on the streets of Baku 😅 pic.twitter.com/XIsuohoiC3
Hamilton on the radio is told to get the tyre surface temperatures down. He is down in 14th. Verstappen makes a mistake in the middle sector, not sure exactly what happened, taking avoiding action on Norris. Need to see the replay of that…
They are not really in the same race, as Norris is on 22-lap old hard tyres and Sainz on five-lap old hards. Barely even a yellow flag today, let alone a safety car or a red flag. 
Piastri pulling out a little lead but is still not quite out of DRS range of Leclerc. We go again…
“They are pushing like crazy… or they have more grip than us,” Leclerc says as he tries to retake the lead. Colapinto gets Gasly for 10th. It seems Piastri is using a lot of his battery here to keep the lead. 
Piastri leads Leclerc by not very much but slightly too much for Leclerc to try a move into turn one. Perez is right on the gearbox of Leclerc by the time they get to the end of the second DRS zone and turn three. 
Norris says he’s now struggling a bit. He is told that he is doing a really good job despite the pace feeling “s—”. 
He gets a big tow down the pit straight and then opens DRS before sending it down the inside of turn one and then fends off a challenge by moving over on Leclerc before turn two. He came from very far back there, probably 0.7sec. Leclerc left the door open. Totally open. I wonder if it took him a bit by surprise. 
LAP 20/51WHAT A MOVE FOR THE LEAD!!! 👏👏Piastri goes FULL SEND into the first corner and takes the lead from Leclerc! Stunning!!!#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/vEWfwejQ7A
Perez now gets DRS on the pit staight on Albon and goes down the inside to move into third, but he has lost some time – probably a couple of seconds, in passing the Williams. 
Here’s the top 10:
*yet to stop
Albon stays out, Piastri gets DRS and gets past him on the pit straight. Perez will have to wait a bit longer. Sainz rejoins in sixth. Norris is now closing up on Perez but has yet to stop. Just 1.1sec between leader Leclerc and Piastri now. 
Well, Sainz currently leads by 13 seconds but he has yet to stop. Net leader Leclerc has Albon behind him, yet to stop, with Piastri and Perez within 2.1sec of the Monegasque’s Ferrari. 
Norris holds up Perez until he breezes past on the pit straight and that is just enough for Piastri to keep the position as the Australian comes out of the pits. However, Perez has much warmer tyres and will be a threat to the Australian on this lap. 
Tsunoda has retired, presumably with damage after a lap-one clash with Stroll. Yes. A huge hole in the sidepod. Perez does the fastest middle sector as he chases down Piastri. Leclerc comes into the pits and will come out in clean air with Alexander Albon behind him. 
We haven’t seen much of it on television as his lead goes up to six seconds. 
Norris’s pace on the 14 lap old hard tyres is roughly equivalent with the leaders now. Well, Leclerc. He’s faster than some of the others in the lead group. Norris is told to hold Perez up to help with Piastri’s hopes of retaning second ahead of the Red Bull. 
In comes Perez to the pits but keeps ahead of Hulkenberg, Bearman and his team-mate. Piastri now in danger of being undercut by Perez… he says he’s struggling now with the tyres so will surely need to dive in. But he doesn’t…
He switches to the hard tyres. It’s not the best stop, 3.1sec. Russell then follows him in, followed by Hamilton as Mercedes double-stack their cars. 
Colapinto in the Williams comes in from eighth to move to the hard tyres in an attempted undercut. 
LAP 11/51Colapinto’s Williams is the first of the top ten to blink and pit for fresh tyres 🛞The Argentine rejoins in P15 on Hard tyres, so is likely aiming for a 1-stop strategy. #F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/cttaLYaI4d
Verstappen is now nearly four seconds ahead of Russell, who is falling well back sadly. Not sure if that is anything to do with the potential plastic bag in the airbox. Verstappen’s pace is not electric by any means, nearly seven seconds behind Perez. 
 
It’s over 3.2sec now and Piastri has no answer. Perez also starting to catch him, 0.4sec quicker the last time around was the Mexican. Hulkenberg gets Bearman for 11th to become the lead Haas in the race. 
Lap 10: Good lap from Checo last time around, another new PB and the gap to PIA is down to 1.4 seconds ⏱️#F1 || #AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿
Not what you want. Norris now has another four seconds to make up to reach Alexander Albon in ninth and is currently losing around 1.5sec a lap to the leaders…
Norris opens up the DRS flap on the pit straight and sails past Oliver Bearman before the braking zone to turn one. He is up into the points but is more than a pit stop behind the leaders. Still, he is on the hard tyres here. 
Piastri has been told to go to plan B. He is now 2.1sec behind Leclerc, who is finding some good pace. Could he be going to a two-stop strategy here?
He takes out 0.8sec from Piastri in the last lap. Not sure if Piastri made a mistake. I dont think so as he was 0.3sec and 0.6sec slower in the first and second sectors respectively. 
Norris is within DRS range of Bearman in the Haas. Russell has also dropped back from Verstappen, losing 0.4sec so that battle is not currently in danger of an imminent overtake. 
Three tenths he took out of the Red Bull on the last lap…
 
Leclerc is not getting away here. Norris is 17 seconds behind and in 11th though was half a second faster than Bearman in 10th ahead of him. Perez is about 1.8sec behind Piastri and is not quite staying in touch. 
LAP 5/51Piastri continues to give chase to race leader Leclerc – he’s within the 1-second window to receive DRS.The McLaren continues to heap pressure on the Ferrari ahead. #F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/pP1vWTs7Uh
He gets Tsunoda at the second corner and is one place behind the points as Leclerc sets the fastest lap. 
Norris takes 12th from Hulkenberg at turn one and sets about hunting Tsunoda already. Plenty of leaf litter around the straights. This race has either been run in April or June so this is the latest it has taken place and it is starting to look autumnal in Baku. 
Leclerc leads Piastri by 0.8sec
It’s a good start from Leclerc who comfortably hols the lead from Piastri as they enter turn one. At turn two Perez has third from Sainz and Verstappen has taken fifth from Russell already, so the Red Bulls making good progress. 
WE ARE AWAY IN BAKU 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴Lando Norris is making moves 🧡 pic.twitter.com/8TByJVpJFk
Norris already up two positions to 13th…
And we are ready to go…
Only Albon in ninth, Ricciardo in 14th, Norrs in 15th, Zhou in 17th, Gasly in 18th and Ocon from the pit lane start on the hard tyre. 
Predictions?
Top six, for me: 
Norris seventh, Hamilton ninth. 
Time to get down to business 👊 #AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/M8YJdP1v1p
Pirelli are saying a one-stopper is the fastest, which will either be a medium start to hard with pit window on lap 14-24. Or Hard start to medium with pit window lap 27 to 37. A two-stop is possible going medium, hard, hard but that might not be a popular option. Of course, red flags and safety cars may well change this. 
Marking your 150th Grand Prix in Azerbaijan 📍 What an achievement @OconEsteban 💙 pic.twitter.com/YPJ56eTGtC
One grand prix win in that time and three podiums. He has not been in the most competitive cars for most of his career but that is the case for the vast majority of F1 drivers. Has only finished in the top 10 once (2022 the year his win came) but in no full season has he finished lower than 12th. Mind you, that is likely to change this year as he sits 18th. 
Pole is on the right-hand side here (the outside but clean line) here. 
2. PIA 1. LEC4. PER 3. SAI6. VER 5. RUS8. COL 7. ALO10. BEA 9. ALB12. HUL 11. TSU14. RIC 13. STR16. BOT 15. NOR18. GAS 17. ZHO
PIT LANE: HAM, OCO
Does Verstappen increase his championship lead today? And by how much?
If he finishes where he starts he will get eight points. You’d back Norris to fight his way back up to the points in this McLaren, probably to the top eight. But a lot can happen…
Compare Charles and Oscar through the streets of Baku, using the ghost car 👻 pic.twitter.com/PmaO5cwtvu
It’s a long lap, so 0.321sec is not the enormous margin it might be at other tracks (0.3 per cent) but that was still a mighty lap from the man who has not been beaten in qualifying here since 2019, when he probably should have taken pole anyway. 
All drivers are okay after a scary start to the F2 race 😳 pic.twitter.com/Shyy5iBml0
Lewis Hamilton will start today’s race from the pit-lane after changing his engine and other components after qualifying. He would have started in seventh after a poor session, but a new turbocharger and MGU-K and MGU-H parts. This at least promoted compatriot Lando Norris up to 15th on the grid, two places up from where he qualified after Pierre Gasly’s disqualification. 
DSQ: Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Welcome to our live coverage for the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the Baku City Circuit. This race has been on the calendar in various guises since 2016 and has occasionally thrown up chaotic classics, though there have been a few duds too. Which one will we get today? Well, at the risk of over-promising, I think what we have here is the makings of the former. Of course, some of that relies on safety cars and red flags but I think there is a good chance of that. 
Qualifying was highly entertaining again. Charles Leclerc took his fourth pole position in a row at this track but he has yet to convert the first three of those into a victory. Today, with Ferrari having improved on their race pace, he should be in with a good shout. 
Despite McLaren stating that they would favour Lando Norris in the drivers’ championship, with team-mate Oscar Piastri playing a supporting role for the team, the Briton made a mess of his qualifying. Arguably that was not his fault as a late yellow flag hampered his final lap in Q1 but it meant he failed to progress to the second part of qualifying and will start well down the grid. Piastri, by contrast, put it on the front-row albeit more than three-tenths slower than Leclerc’s superb lap. 
The only things that Norris can hold onto is that Max Verstappen, who leads him by 62 points in the standings, only qualified sixth and that this race can throw up surprises every now and then. Still, taking the eight points he needs on average out of the Dutchman’s advantage looks unlikely, barring a Verstappen DNF. Verstappen again complained that a late set-up change made the car worse and he was out-qualified for the first time this season by Sergio Perez. 
Williams also put in a very strong qualifying performance with Franco Colapinto – in just his second grand prix – qualifying in ninth with Alexander Albon in 10th. A good chance for them to score points, if their race pace is there. Oliver Bearman is also in his second grand prix, this time for Haas rather than Ferrari and qualified a respectable 11th, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg. Points will be the target for him too today.