Piastri celebrates career-best victory at Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

Oscar Piastri hailed his Azerbaijan Grand Prix victory as the pinnacle of his career after enduring relentless pressure from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, leading McLaren to the top of the F1 standings.

On the 20th lap in Baku, the 23-year-old Australian overtook pole-sitter Leclerc and defended his position with precision as the Ferrari driver attempted multiple times to reclaim the lead. The race concluded dramatically with a virtual safety car following a major collision between Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez on the penultimate lap, securing Piastri’s win.

"For me, I think that ranks as probably the best win of my career, I would say. Trying to soak up that pressure for so long in that race, that was incredibly tough," Piastri commented on his second career F1 victory. He added, "That was probably the most stressful afternoon in my life."

This triumph comes after McLaren team principal Andrea Stella emphasized the team’s commitment to supporting Lando Norris in his title contest against Red Bull’s triple world champion, Max Verstappen. In a strategic twist on Sunday, Norris was enlisted to aid his teammate by holding up Pérez and creating a pit window for Piastri.

"Can you do anything to hold Pérez up without hurting yourself?" Norris was asked by his engineer, given his position immediately ahead of Pérez and yet to pit. The maneuver worked, allowing Piastri to pit for fresh tires and retain second place before making his decisive move past Leclerc. This strategy marked Piastri as the top scorer on the grid over the past seven rounds.

Reflecting on his success, Piastri stated, "I think I have had a good run through the European part of the year and now continuing, but ... yeah, it's not just down to me. We had a car that could put us in the fight. We had a pit stop that could put us in the fight. We had some teamwork that put us in the fight. And it all managed to pay off."

Norris, who impressively climbed from a 15th starting position to finish fourth, also managed to reduce Max Verstappen’s lead in the overall standings to 59 points. Norris expressed his satisfaction with his contribution, saying, "I did my small part for the team, which I'm very happy for because it got us to P1 in the constructors'."

He further noted, “I played the team game well, and that was what made me the happiest."

McLaren consistently asserts that they view none of their drivers as a primary or secondary driver. However, Red Bull boss Christian Horner suggested that maintaining equal status for both drivers could lead to challenges, especially as "the second driver starts outperforming the first driver."

"Obviously, at the beginning of the season, it's all open, but certainly when you get to around the halfway point, you've got to pick a horse, especially if you're in a championship battle," Horner remarked.

With this victory, Piastri has signaled his growing presence in the championship battle, setting the stage for an exciting continuation of the F1 season.

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