‘Perfect drive’ stuns F1 world: Piastri shows nerves of steel to win Azerbaijan Grand Prix

“Not bad for a number two driver.”

They were the famous words of Mark Webber in mid-2010 when he won at Silverstone – the supporting driver to Sebastian Vettel proving his own ability in style.

Now, 14 years on, Webber’s protege Oscar Piastri outdid him in spectacular fashion – the 23-year-old from bayside Melbourne driving the race of his life to hold a rampaging Charles Leclerc in the form car of the Formula 1 grid at bay for lap, after lap, after lap by just tenths of a second at a time to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Australia’s Oscar Piastri (right) and McLaren race engineer Tom Stallard celebrate on the podium. Credit: Getty Images

In the same week that Piastri’s McLaren team made it clear that they’d be backing title contender Lando Norris over him for the rest of this season, they at one stage even told Norris to fall into line and hold up the Australian’s chasing pack in a remarkable display of irony.

Piastri pitted for the first and only time on lap 15, just after Norris held a storming Sergio Perez at bay if only for a while, but it was lap 20 that delivered the most telling moment of his young top-flight career to date.

Just after the start-finish line on the monstrous Baku home straight, Piastri – as unassuming in this moment behind the wheel as he seems out of the cockpit – roared past Leclerc down the inside of turn one, seemingly catching him completely off-guard.

The battle continued over corners two and three, and Piastri was unflinching.

Piastri celebrates with his McLaren team.Credit: Getty Images

But the real battle was just getting started.

Leclerc, who later said he “lost the race” by not defending as well as he should have on lap 20, pushed Piastri to within just tenths of a second for much of the remaining 31 laps before the Australian finally broke clear.

Time and time again he tried to use his DRS (drag reduction system, where a driver opens the car’s rear wing to give an aerodynamic boost while running within a second of the car in front) to pull to within overtaking distance of Piastri and get the job done down the inside of turn one, and each time Piastri rebuffed him.

Piastri ultimately won under the virtual safety car after a horror late smash involving Carlos Sainz jnr and Sergio Perez (who were both uninjured), but there would be no doubting this result – his second win at the pinnacle of motor sport.

There were no team orders to correct positions this time, and there was no good luck needed.

This was a display of pure speed and a cold-blooded, unblinking focus – one that has seen Piastri score more championship points than any other driver, including Norris, Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton – over the past seven races.

“He’s no longer the next big star – this star has well and truly arrived,” said former F1 racer Karun Chandhok on the Sky coverage.

“There can be no doubt in anybody’s mind that Oscar Piastri deserved that victory today.

“Perfect, perfect drive.”

Not bad for a number two driver in just his second Formula 1 season.

When Piastri crossed the line there’d be no quip about the hand McLaren dealt him just days prior, but rather a comment that could barely be believed.

“Probably the most stressful afternoon of my life,” he said to his team over the radio, his voice as steady as ever.

“Well done.”

If that was Piastri at his most stressed, just imagine what he can do when he’s relaxed.

After the race, he explained “that” overtake.

Australian winners of Formula 1 Grand Prix

• Sir Jack Brabham (1955-1970) 14 wins
• Alan Jones (1975-81, 1983, 1985-86) 12 wins
• Mark Webber (2002-2013) 9 wins
• Daniel Ricciardo (2011-current) 8 wins
• Oscar Piastri (2023-current) 2 wins

“I tried at the start of the race to get in front, but once I dropped out of DRS [range] I just didn’t have the pace, and 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,” Piastri said with a smiling Webber, his manager, standing just metres away.

The moment Piastri claimed the biggest win of his career to-date.Credit: Getty Images

“I went for a pretty big lunge but managed to pull it up and then hung on for dear life.”

While Piastri’s drive was undoubtedly the most eye-catching of the race, Norris rose from 15th at the start to fourth – helping give McLaren their first lead in the constructors’ championship since 2014.

Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team principal, later said Piastri kept a little bit up his sleeve to gap Leclerc for the closing laps after the Ferrari star’s tyres finally faded.

“As a matter of fact, he did have something in the tank, but that was a matter of millimetres at times,” Stella told the host broadcaster.

2024 F1 DRIVER STANDINGS

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 313 points
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) 254 points
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 235 points
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 222 points

1st: 25 points, 2nd: 18 points, 3rd: 15 points, 4th: 12 points, 5th: 10 points, 6th: 8 points, 7th: 6 points, 8th: 4 points, 9th: 2 points, 10th: 1 point.

There are seven races remaining this season.

“What brilliancy in Oscar’s driving today, and what teamwork because, obviously Lando did a bit of the job in helping Oscar today, and then what a recovery [for him] from 15th on the grid – such a strong team, such strong drivers. [I’m] very proud of all of them.”

Stella could only laugh when talking about how stressed Piastri felt behind the wheel.

“He said it was the most stressful Sunday afternoon of his life – I hope he will have this kind of stress much more frequently in the future, [but] even if it’s a boring win we’ll take it anyhow.”

Norris described his own race.

2024 F1 CONSTRUCTOR STANDINGS

1. McLaren Mercedes 476 points
2. Red Bull Honda 456
3. Ferrari 425
4. Mercedes 309
5. Aston Martin Mercedes 82
6. RB Honda 34
7. Haas Ferrari 29
8. Williams Mercedes 16
9. Alpine Renault 13
10. Sauber Ferrari 0

‘I went for a pretty big lunge but managed to pull it up and then hung on for dear life.’

Oscar Piastri on his overtake of Charles Leclerc

“I was stuck behind Alex [Albon] so I couldn’t do a lot – I didn’t slow down [in front of Perez to back him up], I just sort of saved my tyres a little bit more,” he told Sky.

“I just had to cool them – they were overheating a little bit.

“It allowed Oscar to stay ahead and potentially get him the win today, so I’m happy I helped him out. I played a small part in that and for us as a team that’s what we need to do.

“I don’t think it cost me [in terms of the race result], it’s always impossible to know – I got stuck behind Alex for 15 laps more after that, so I don’t think that changed the outcome, but it changed the outcome for Oscar and that was the most important thing.”

2024 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX FINISHING ORDER

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1:32:58.007
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +10.910 sec
3. George Russell (Mercedes) +31.328
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) +36.143
5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +77.098
6. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +85.468
7. Alex Albon (Williams) +87.396
8. Franco Colapinto (Williams) +89.541
9. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +92.401
10. Oliver Bearman (Haas) +93.127
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) +93.465
12. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +117.189
13. Daniel Ricciardo (RB) +146.907
14. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber) +148.841
15. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +1 lap
16. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) +1 lap
17. Carlos Sainz jnr (Ferrari) DNF
18. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) DNF
19. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) DNF
20. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) DNF

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