Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Oscar Piastri wins in Baku thriller as Lando Norris recovers to beat Max Verstappen | F1 Information

Oscar Piastri holds off Charles Leclerc to win thrilling Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Lando Norris recovers to fourth and beats Max ·Max Verstappen.

Piastri took the lead after an unbelievable battle for the lead with Leclerc for a lot of the race, earlier than Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz completed second from final A dramatic crash occurred in the course of the battle for third place on the lap.

George Russell benefited from the collision to complete third, with Norris taking fourth after passing Verstappen with one other technique late within the race. Norris closed the hole on the Dutchman within the drivers’ championship to 59 factors.

Verstappen struggled for a lot of the race and completed fifth, with McLaren now 20 factors forward of Pink Bull within the constructors’ championship.

It was some of the intense races of the 12 months, with Piastri and Leclerc clashing a number of occasions, and Verstappen and Norris closing in at totally different factors of the race.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was sixth, Williams’ Alex Albon was seventh and rookie Franco Colapinto took the primary factors in eighth.

Lewis Hamilton completed ninth in a quiet race, with British teenager Oliver Bearman ending tenth for Haas.

Piastri wins epic battle with Leclerc

Early on, Leclerc seemed like he was heading for victory, with a six-second lead over Piastri earlier than the primary pit cease.

Piastri pitted on lap 16, remaining simply forward of Perez after Norris tactically held off the Pink Bull driver within the tight midfield.

Leclerc pitted a lap later, however his exhausting tires slowly warmed up and Piastri took benefit on lap 20 with a surprising overtake into Flip One.

From then till the ultimate laps, Leclerc and Piastri have been by no means separated by greater than a second in a number of wheel-to-wheel periods.

Each time Leclerc approached Flip One, Piastri coated the within and was capable of stop Leclerc from merging on the exit of the nook.

The McLaren driver additionally had large traction within the corners as Leclerc could not discover a manner by within the epic battle for the lead.

Perez was at all times two seconds behind the chief and able to benefit from the incident, however Piastri and Leclerc saved clear.

Ultimately, Leclerc’s tires started to degrade, so Piastri led the ultimate 5 laps to win simply the second F1 race of his profession.

Leclerc needed to look over his shoulder within the closing levels, with Perez on prime of him and Ferrari team-mate Sainz closing in rapidly. The Monegasque driver defended effectively and Perez went deep into the primary nook on the penultimate lap, permitting Sainz to slide previous.

Perez chased the Spaniard after the second flip, however the pair snarled and hit the wall exhausting, so the race ended below the digital security automobile.

Norris makes an excellent restoration from fifteenth to 4th

Few thought Norris would overtake Verstappen within the title race after a disastrous qualifying session that noticed him begin from fifteenth on the grid.

The British driver opted to begin on exhausting tires moderately than mediums, thus overlaying an extended distance and located himself in entrance of Verstappen after the Pink Bull driver pitted.

Verstappen was unable to overhaul his title rival as Norris aggressively closed the door on him on lap 24, the closest the reigning world champion has ever come.

Norris then tactically used Alex Albon to remain within the Williams driver’s DRS to assist him in order that Verstappen could not get shut on the straight.

Norris pitted for brand spanking new medium tires with 14 laps remaining, and Verstappen’s tires pale away. He was 15 seconds behind Verstappen and started to gentle up the timing screens with purple zones and quickest lap occasions.

The McLaren driver caught and handed Verstappen for sixth with three laps remaining, transferring into fourth after Perez and Sainz clashed.

Elsewhere, Hamilton completed ninth after ranging from the pits resulting from an engine change.

Hamilton was caught in visitors for a lot of the race and complained concerning the efficiency of his tires on medium and exhausting roads.

Williams claimed double factors for the primary time of the season, with Albon taking seventh from team-mate Colapinto, who had already confirmed himself to be a wonderful alternative for Logan Sargent in simply his second F1 race. .

Behrmann completed tenth in a one-off race, changing Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, who was banned from Baku for reaching the penalty restrict however will race in Singapore Return to competitors.

Method 1’s thrilling 2024 season continues dwell on Sky Sports activities F1 subsequent weekend with extra gorgeous road monitor motion below the lights of the Singapore Grand Prix. Watch each F1 race and extra with a NOW Sports activities Month-to-month Membership – no contract, cancel anytime