“Expect the Unexpected,” announce the giant boards of the 2024 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Baku City Circuit, known for one of F1’s longest straights, is renowned for its challenges. The layout combines open spaces, like at Turn 1, with narrow passages between walls. The track’s margins are razor-thin in some areas, and even minor errors can lead to significant penalties, much like Monaco. The hardest part is finding the limit with braking and having the confidence because there’s no room for error. Once you’ve committed to that braking point, if you lock a wheel, you’re in the wall. In a word: it’s a circuit for the bravest.

Young Piastri made this clear during the Saturday press conference, reflecting on his final laps in Q3 and his second position on the grid. “I just got a bit closer to the walls, and on the last lap, I got a little too close! But yeah, I tried to really get the most out of it. This track really rewards commitment.”

Pressure was high, especially with the paddock talking about McLaren’s “Papaya Rules,” but once Oscar Piastri put his helmet on, he left everything behind. With the mindset of a champion, determined to win and fight for the title until it’s mathematically impossible, 23-year-old Piastri made a stellar start from second on the grid alongside polesitter Charles Leclerc.

In the early stages, Charles looked as dominant as he had at Monza, and after Oscar pushed too hard too soon on his C4s and overheated them, the Ferrari driver opened up a gap of up to 5.9 seconds by lap 14. By then, several drivers had pitted for hard tires, including Perez on lap 13. For a moment, it seemed McLaren had jeopardized Oscar’s position with the risk of an undercut from Checo. Fortunately, or strategically, Lando was ahead of the rejoining Checo and provided helpful teamwork. Oscar pitted for hards, and Ferrari responded by bringing Charles in a lap later, on lap 16. This move shifted the race into a new phase, as Oscar succeeded in emerging ahead of Checo and undercutting Charles. By lap 18, he was only seven-tenths behind the leading Ferrari.
Piastri quickly found his pace and started closing the gap. He maintained the pressure on Charles until finally, on lap 20, he overtook him at Turn 1.

There was a tiny window of opportunity for Oscar Piastri to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix  and he grabbed it. From 25 meters behind Leclerc’s Ferrari, Piastri made a clean, perfect pass and held the lead with the calm and determination of a veteran, despite it being only his second season in F1.

With this victory, Piastri’s second this year, and a fantastic P4 for Norris after Sainz and Perez collided on the penultimate lap, McLaren overtook Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship.

“To be honest, we lost the race where I didn’t defend as well as I should have at the end of the straight,” Charles Leclerc admitted. While Charles didn’t close all the doors, Piastri impressed with his mature race, outer calm, and control under astronomic pressure.

“It was probably one of the most stressful afternoons of my life,” confessed the Australian with Italian blood, “I knew that getting into the lead was going to be, let’s say, 40% of the job, but holding on to it was going to be 60%. I had used the tires pretty heavily to get in front, and trying to keep Charles behind was incredibly stressful. I couldn’t make a single mistake. I made a couple, but at a track like Baku, it’s impossible to drive flat out and not make any mistakes. I was just fortunate that they weren’t big enough to cost me. So yes, the 30 laps where I was trying to keep Charles behind were incredibly tough.”

Piastri’s outer calm and inner lucidity have become his signature, and there is no doubt he will become a world champion one day.

“This the best win of my career”, he confessed, “Trying to soak up that pressure for so long in that race that was incredibly tough. In the first stint, when Charles was just pulling away pretty comfortably, I thought we were going to be second at best. Even, Checo was keeping me busy and I could see Carlos was very quick at the end of the medium stint. I saw an opportunity or half an opportunity after the pit stop and knew I had to try and take it. I knew that getting to the lead was going to be one thing, but I knew I had my work cut out for me after that to try and stay there because I didn’t feel like we were the quickest in that first stint. It was very hard work. Having clean air did help quite a bit. But yeah, it has to be one of the best races I’ve done”.

 

Another key moment that elevates Piastri from a rising star to a future champion was when he took the responsibility of the pass despite team instructions. After the pit stop, within three laps he reduced the 6-second gap to 1.3 seconds. Another lap and Piastri was within 25 metres of Leclerc as they approached the Turn 1 braking zone. Oscar had just been told by his engineer, “We damaged the front tyres a little by attacking Leclerc in that last stint. Let’s not do that again. Be smart.” He took that information on board  and took the decision trusting completely his instinct. “When I saw we were so close I knew I had to get past immediately. I saw half an opportunity and I took it,” Piastri explained, ” if I hadn’t made the move then I would never have been able to do it because you just sit behind using up your tyres in the dirty air.”

With this pass, Piastri allowed for a double overtake as McLaren took the lead in the World Championship (+20 points on Red Bull, 51 on Ferrari).

“It’s a massive team effort, and everyone at McLaren deserves full credit for the turnaround that’s happened in my 18 months here. The car has improved, but I think they’ve helped me improve as well. Twelve months ago, I definitely wasn’t capable of achieving results like this. I’m excited to see what the future holds.”

“A great result for the team, with a great race from both sides,” commented Norris, who made a remarkable comeback after qualifying 17th due to an unexpected yellow flag that prevented him from doing a second lap. “First of all, congrats to Oscar for another win; he deserves it. I think I had a great race, got the fastest lap, and earned a good number of points from where we were, so I’m very happy. We’re the team that gained the most points in this race, and we’ve taken the lead in the Constructors’ Championship. A job well done by everyone.”

The next stop is Singapore in just a few days, and then F1 will take a break of nearly a month before the final push of six races in eight weekends—two intercontinental triple-headers that will test the teams and the drivers to the fullest.

Photos: Credits McLaren