McLaren high-flying: Piastri wins in Baku thriller

Formula 1 is putting on a thrilling race in Azerbaijan. Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri are battling for victory for many laps. Max Verstappen has no chance once again.

With his thrilling victory in Baku, youngster Oscar Piastri lets McLaren dream of its first Formula 1 team title since 1998. The Australian, who had just been demoted to number two behind his team rival Lando Norris, showed his class at the Grand Prix in Azerbaijan and crossed the finish line first, just ahead of Ferrari star Charles Leclerc. Because world championship contender Norris managed to catch up from 15th place on the grid to 4th place, McLaren overtook Max Verstappen’s Red Bull racing team in the team rankings.

Verstappen once again struggled with his stubborn car and only finished fifth. His lead in the drivers’ championship over Norris shrank to 59 points because the Briton also scored an extra point for the fastest lap. In the final laps, the race had to be neutralized because Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez and Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz collided in the fight for a podium place.

George Russell finished third in his Mercedes. Nico Hülkenberg drove over debris and slipped out of the points in eleventh place in his Haas. “That was the most stressful day of my life,” radioed winner Piastri to his pit. It was his second career success after his victory in Hungary in July.

Before the 17th race of the season on the Caspian Sea, McLaren had given Norris the number 1 status after a long hesitation. In the battle for the drivers’ title, the Briton was to be given preference over Piastri, and the young Australian star promised to help. But Norris promptly botched the qualification in Baku.

From pole position, Azerbaijan Leclerc won the race for the fourth time in the series. Not a good omen: the 26-year-old had not managed to win in the three previous attempts. But buoyed by his recent victory at Ferrari’s home race in Monza, Leclerc confidently held on to first place in the first few corners and initially stayed comfortably in front once the field had sorted itself out.

Behind them were Piastri and last year’s winner Pérez in the Red Bull. Verstappen, who was not happy with his qualification in sixth place, improved to fifth place in the first few kilometers. The form crisis that Red Bull had slipped into over the summer was not as evident on the street circuit as it was recently in Monza. But the superiority of the first few months of the season, when the three-time world champion won seven out of ten races, is long gone.

It will take time for Red Bull to resolve the problems with the car, said team boss Christian Horner in Baku. “It’s one thing to understand the problem. It’s another to solve it and get the parts on the car that will fix it,” explained Horner.

Time is running out for the industry leader, especially in the hunt for the constructors’ title. McLaren and Ferrari had made up a lot of ground in the previous weeks and clearly brought the stronger package with them to Azerbaijan. It was all the more annoying, especially for Norris, that he had already ruined his chance of winning and scoring many points on Saturday.

At least the 24-year-old’s recovery initially went according to plan. He quickly moved up into the top ten and was even fifth before his first tire change. Things went even better for his teammate Piastri. He attacked Leclerc with fresh rubber tires and squeezed past the Ferrari driver to the top on lap 20.

Piastri, Leclerc and Pérez were now racing closely behind one another. Behind them, Norris and Verstappen were dueling, complaining about brake problems and the poor balance of his company car. Despite new tyres, the Dutchman simply couldn’t get past his title rival, who delayed his first pit stop for a long time. When Norris then changed to fresh tyres, he crowned his strong racing performance. Around 15 seconds behind Verstappen, Norris caught up and overtook him again shortly before the end.

Meanwhile, Piastri and Leclerc were engaged in a thrilling duel for several laps. Using the DRS overtaking aid, the Ferrari driver came very close to the young Australian several times on the home straight, but Piastri defended himself skillfully again and again. Shortly before the end, Leclerc had to admit defeat.