Oscar Piastri elected driver of the day at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri won his second victory this season after the one at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The McLaren driver crossed the finish line first at the end of an exciting Azerbaijan Grand Prix, narrowly ahead of Charles Leclerc at the finish line after a fierce battle involving several cars in the streets of Baku. Sergio Pérez and Carlos Sainz dramatically retired towards the end of the race after an accident. Indeed, the winner of this Grand Prix followed the Monegasque, who started on pole position, in the early stages of the 51-lap race, but quickly overtook him shortly after the leaders’ pit stop. Sergio Pérez and then Carlos Sainz caught up, turning the race into a tense four-way battle for the victory. « I tried at the beginning of the race to get ahead, but once out of the DRS zone, I simply didn’t have the pace. After the pit stop, I saw that we were close again and I felt like we had a bit more grip, so I had to go for it because I knew that if I didn’t pass him at the start of the relay, I would never be able to overtake him, “said the McLaren driver.

It is ultimately the winner of the Hungarian Grand Prix who triumphed, brilliantly defending his first place several times and widening a slight gap when Charles Leclerc’s tires started to wear out in the final laps, dangerously bringing the Ferrari close to Sergio Perez and his compatriot Carlos Sainz.

The drama occurred at the beginning of the penultimate lap, when a failed overtaking attempt on the Monegasque led the Mexican to end up wheel to wheel with Carlos Sainz. The two drivers spectacularly crashed into the wall between turns 2 and 3, bringing their race to an end.

Although the race ended under a virtual safety car regime, it did not stop McLaren and Oscar Piastri from celebrating. A race that will remain long in the memory of the young driver who said he had experienced the most stressful afternoon of my life to secure a second Grand Prix victory and help McLaren take the lead in the constructors’ championship with 476 points, just ahead of Red Bull and its 456 points. “I tried a big attack, but I managed to make it work and then I held on for the next 35 laps. The last two laps, once he [Leclerc] was out of the DRS zone, were a bit quieter, but here, there is never really a quiet lap. It was hard work, but it’s one of the best races of my career,” said Oscar Piastri after the race.