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Formula 1 took to the streets of Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which saw an intense battle for the lead and a last minute crash.Â?
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend kicked off with three practice sessions that saw Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and George Russell top the timesheets. Next came Qualifying, which produced rather surprising results.
Leclerc achieved pole positions, which he’s done at Baku in the past, but has yet to win. However, he came into the weekend riding a high from Monza, where he won his second race of the season. Oscar Piastri put his McLaren in P2, which contrasts to his teammate’s result.
Lando Norris made a shock exit from Q3 after finishing the session in 16th. Following Qualifying, Pierre Gasly was disqualified, and Lewis Hamilton, despite qualifying in P7, started the race from the pitlane. The seven-time world champion has taken a new power unit for the race. Esteban Ocon also started from the pitlane.
So, with the grid set, let’s get into what happened during F1’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Lights Out
Everyone apart from Alex Albon in the top 13 on the grid started the race on the medium tyres. Joining Albon on the hards were Daniel Ricciardo, Norris, Guanyu Zhou, Gasly and Ocon.
As Harry Benjamin said “All eyes to the lights, and foot to the floor”, Leclerc led the way around the streets of Baku. He kept the lead into Turn 1 with Piastri staying behind in P2. Sergio Perez managed to overtake Carlos Sainz to get into the final podium position whilst the other Red Bull of Max Verstappen overtook George Russell for P5.
On the opening lap, Lance Stroll radioed that he had a puncture. The Aston Martin driver came into the pits at the end of lap one. A replay showed that Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda made contact.
Meanwhile, down the main straight, there was a battle between Tsunoda, Norris, Nico Hulkenberg and Ricciardo. Tsunoda stayed ahead but Norris managed to overtake the others to get into 12th.
Unfortunately for Norris, the top 10, rounded out by Oliver Bearman, had a four second buffer to the rest of the pack. The McLaren driver perfected an overtake on Tsunoda on lap 3, which Hulkenberg then replicated.
At the back of the pack, Hamilton overtook both Sauber drivers to move up four places.
Tsunoda slowed down the main straight but re-joined on the racing line ahead of Hamilton. However, the Visa Cash App RB driver didn’t seem to have the pace that his teammate had.
Back up front, Piastri was chasing Leclerc for the lead, but couldn’t quite get within DRS range. The other McLaren car of Norris, though, did get within DRS range and the British driver managed to overtake both Haas drivers to get into the final points-paying position.
LAP 8/51
Into the points! ?
Norris dispatches Ollie Bearman's Haas to move into P10 and set off after the Williams pair. #F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/zG8gJP9gk6
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 15, 2024
It was then a battle between Hulkenberg and Bearman with the British driver leading. Hulkenberg was less than a second behind his teammate and flew round the outside of Bearman on lap 10 to get into 11th.
On lap 11, Franco Colapinto came into the pits to switch onto the hard tyres. This weekend marks his second F1 race weekend with Williams and he came back out on track in 15th. Fernando Alonso also came into the pits, reacting to Colapinto. Bernie Collins said that Aston Martin may be contemplating a two-stop for Alonso, who came out just ahead of Colapinto.
Up front, Leclerc had created a 4.5 second gap to Piastri, maintaining a comfortable lead to the McLaren driver.
Verstappen and Russell both then came into the pits on lap 13. The Dutch driver came out in 10th with Gasly in between himself and Russell in 12th.
More drivers came into the pits to switch from the mediums to the hard-compound tyres. But Piastri wasn’t one of them.
Piastri stayed out for another lap, which puts him in danger with Perez, who could have undercut the Australian. The Woking-based team asked Norris to hold up Perez for a couple of laps to allow Piastri to pit, which Perez noted to Red Bull.
Perez overtook Norris down the main straight, but Piastri came out of the pits just ahead of the Mexican. However, it’s crucial to remember Piastri had cold tyres compared to Perez.
Leclerc came into the pits soon after, which put Sainz into P1, but he then pitted a lap later. The Spaniard came out in sixth, just ahead of Verstappen. Meanwhile, Tsunoda retired his car on lap 17.
On lap 18, Albon, Norris, Gasly, Ricciardo, Ocon and Stroll all still needed to complete their first mandatory pitstop.
Battle up front
The battle up front between Perez and Piastri continued with Albon in between the two, holding up the Red Bull. Perez eventually got ahead of Albon, but unfortunately for the Mexican, Piastri was able to create a bit of a gap to Perez.
Whilst Piastri had a gap to Perez, the gap to Leclerc was less than a second. The Monegasque still held onto P1 but Piastri was quickly chasing him and took the lead on lap 20. Going down the inside, the McLaren driver overtook Leclerc, but the Ferrari driver didn’t relent.
Leclerc fought back to try and retake the lead, but couldn’t quite succeed. Perez then closed up to Leclerc and got within DRS range. However, Leclerc was in DRS range of Piastri.
The three of them drove a DRS train and whilst Perez and Leclerc were chasing Piastri, Sainz overtook Norris for fifth, which put Norris in danger of Verstappen replicating the Spaniard’s move.
As Sainz then overtook Albon, Norris was forced to defend against Verstappen, his championship rival. The three-time world champion then radioed that his brakes weren’t working.
LAP 24/51
Norris is getting his elbows out against Verstappen! ?
The McLaren is still yet to pit but is defending P6 like it's for a win!
"My brakes are not working." Verstappen tells Red Bull ?#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/Vg4zgplGT0
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 15, 2024
On lap 28, Piastri had to defend against Leclerc as the Ferrari driver tried to overtake former for the lead. With Piastri still leading, Norris, who struggled to pass Albon, was told to come into the pits, but a few seconds later, McLaren instructed him to stay out.
Four laps later, Albon came into the pits, letting Norris start to close the gap to Sainz. Verstappen then had to battle with Russell, who attempted to overtake the Red Bull, but couldn’t quite make it stick.
Piastri showed his defensive skills as Leclerc nearly got ahead, and Perez decided to re-join the fight for the lead. Russell replicated his earlier attempt on Verstappen and managed to succeed on lap 34, getting into sixth.
On lap 38, Norris finally pitted to change onto the medium tyres. He came out the pits in seventh, behind Verstappen. Meanwhile, Hulkenberg and Albon battled for P9 with the British-Thai driver coming out ahead of the Haas. Both their teammates where right behind with Colapinto currently ahead of Bearman, but the British driver was within DRS range of the Williams.
Final laps
With 11 laps left, Leclerc radioed that Piastri was starting to struggle with his tyres. Despite that though, Leclerc still couldn’t retake the lead.
Meanwhile, Hamilton fought with Bearman and overtook him for 12th. This put him behind Colapinto.
The top four drivers were soon all in contention for the race win with Sainz now only two seconds behind Perez, who was within DRS range of Leclerc, who was within DRS range of Piastri.
However, Leclerc dropped Perez and Sainz and was told by his engineer to “Come on!”. He did, unfortunately, drop back slightly, but Piastri kissed the wall at Turn 15.
Sainz then started to close up behind Perez, who had re-entered DRS range behind Leclerc. The Monegasque though had fallen out of DRS range behind Piastri, with the gap 1.242 seconds on lap 47.
With a gap now between Piastri and Leclerc, Perez was putting the pressure on the Leclerc, who said he has no rear tyres. Whilst Perez was putting the pressure on, Norris was putting the pressure on Verstappen as he got within less than a second behind the Red Bull.
The final three laps saw Norris overtake his championship rival for P6.
Virtual Safety Car
Perez then overtook Leclerc, but Leclerc came back fighting, pushing Perez wide and Sainz came through too. But unfortunately, Sainz and Perez then made contact and both crashed out.
LAP 50/51
WOW.
Leclerc defends from Perez, which allows Sainz past, and then the Ferrari and Red Bull collide into the barriers on the run down to Turn 3!
VSC deployed ?#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/u8GzV3ONPA
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 15, 2024
Results
The 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw a continuous battle for the lead after Piastri overtook Leclerc. It was a close call all throughout the race, but it was Oscar Piastri who achieved victory as the race ended under a VSC. With Piastri winning and Norris finishing fourth, the Constructors’ Championship is now in McLaren’s hand.
The rest of the top 10 at the chequered flag were as follows:
1 – Oscar Piastri
2 – Charles Leclerc
3 – George Russell
4 – Lando Norris
5 – Max Verstappen
6 – Fernando Alonso
7 – Alex Albon
8 – Franco Colapinto
9 – Lewis Hamilton
10 – Oliver Bearman
Headline image: @F1 on X