Oscar Piastri emerged victorious at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, propelling McLaren to the top of the constructors' standings. The race concluded under a virtual safety car following a collision between Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Red Bull's Sergio Perez on the penultimate lap.
Ferrari's pole-sitter Charles Leclerc, who was overtaken by Piastri on the 20th of 51 laps, finished second after a fierce battle where his tyres eventually faded. George Russell secured third place for Mercedes due to the Sainz-Perez collision. Red Bull's Formula One leader Max Verstappen finished fifth, just behind his closest title rival Lando Norris, who started 15th for McLaren and ended up fourth, earning a bonus point for the fastest lap.
Verstappen's lead over Norris, who closed a 15-second gap and passed the Dutch driver on lap 49 thanks to fresher tyres, was reduced from 62 points to 59. McLaren now leads Red Bull by 20 points in the standings with seven rounds remaining. "That was probably the most stressful afternoon in my life," Piastri said after withstanding relentless pressure from Leclerc to claim his second career win. "It definitely goes down as one of the better races of my career."
The top two drivers engaged in a prolonged duel, with Leclerc unsuccessfully attempting to use DRS to overtake Piastri until his tyres deteriorated, allowing Perez and Sainz to close in. Fernando Alonso finished sixth for Aston Martin, while Williams' Alex Albon finished seventh, benefiting from the late crash. Argentine rookie Franco Colapinto followed in eighth. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton finished ninth for Mercedes after starting in the pit lane, and British rookie Oliver Bearman collected the final point for Haas as a stand-in for suspended Kevin Magnussen.
Bearman has now scored points for two different teams in his two races, having made his debut with Ferrari as a stand-in for appendicitis-stricken Sainz in March. Perez attempted and failed to pass Leclerc for second place on the penultimate lap, subsequently finding himself in fourth as Sainz seized the opportunity to overtake. The ensuing battle between Sainz and Perez for third place at turn two resulted in a collision and both cars hitting the wall. "What happened there?" Sainz exclaimed, with Perez expressing the same query in more vivid language.
