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The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was poised to be a thriller as the laps dwindled. But it ended behind a virtual safety car with Oscar Piastri winning his second race of the season, and Charles Leclerc finishing second.
The Australian driver’s 25 points and teammate Lando Norris’s fourth-place finish puts McLaren clear of Red Bull in the constructors’ standings. Max Verstappen finished fifth, but Sergio Pérez crashed out after colliding with Carlos Sainz in the final laps, triggering the virtual safety car. The gap between McLaren and Red Bull is now 20 points.
“Yes! Well done everybody, that was probably the most stressful afternoon of my life,” Piastri said over the radio as he crossed the line.
It wasn’t as clear-cut as just a race between Leclerc and Piastri. Pressure began mounting on the Ferrari driver, reporting his rear tires were gone with less than five laps to go, and Pérez and Sainz were right behind him. Leclerc began pushing Pérez into Sainz to hold onto second place.
It looked like Pérez would get him, with the Red Bull driver making a move and going wheel-to-wheel before Leclerc pulled ahead. Sainz slipped past Pérez, but a bit further into the lap, the two drivers tangled and hit the barrier, ending their races.
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
Further back, it’s a double points haul for Williams, Alex Albon, and Franco Colapinto, finishing seventh and eighth, and Haas’ Oliver Bearman picked up another points finish.
Top photo: ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP via Getty Images
