Piastri beats Leclerc after thrilling battle in Baku

McLaren's Oscar Piastri took the second win of his career at the Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix after first overtaking and then fending off polesitter Charles Leclerc.

After a dramatic accident between Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz, Mercedes driver George Russell also reached the podium.

Leclerc took his fourth pole in a row in Baku on Saturday and it looked as if he could finally convert it into his first victory on the high-speed street circuit.

The Ferrari driver maintained the lead at the start ahead of Piastri, while Red Bull's Perez overtook Sainz's second Ferrari to move into third place.

World champion Max Verstappen followed his Red Bull teammate and pushed past Russell in the Mercedes to take fifth place.

With a one-stop on medium and hard tyres expected, Leclerc was able to open a comfortable six-second lead over Piastri and Perez, while Verstappen complained about the behaviour of his car and struggled to keep up with Sainz in fifth place.

Perez was the first of the front-runners to pit on lap 14 to fit hard tyres, but his stop did not prompt an immediate reaction from Leclerc and Piastri to avoid an undercut.

Piastri waited an extra lap and was close to losing second place, but Perez rejoined the track behind the second McLaren of Norris, which had started in 15th place, and helped hold off the Mexican, allowing Piastri to hold on to his position.

Piastri's quick in- and out-laps allowed him to reduce his deficit to Leclerc to just over a second after the Ferrari driver pitted. On lap 20, the Australian took the lead with a late push down the inside at Turn 1 to take the lead of the race.

Leclerc initially told his team that he thought Piastri's pace was “crazy” as there were still 30 laps to go on the hard tires.

But instead of letting Piastri get away, Leclerc stayed with him and tried several times to return the favor at Turn 1 with the help of DRS, but Piastri stood firm each time.

This battle allowed Perez to drop behind the third-place duo, putting less strain on his hard tyres, and Sainz also moved closer after a lonely race in fourth place.

As Perez failed to overtake Leclerc at Turn 1 on the penultimate lap, Sainz slipped past to take third place, but coming out of Turn 2 the two became tangled and crashed hard into the wall.

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Nico Hülkenberg, Haas VF-24

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Piastri overtook Leclerc and Russell under the virtual safety car period, while Norris finished his comeback race in fourth place.

Norris started on the hard tyres and worked his way forward while leaving Verstappen behind, who continued to struggle with a wobbly rear end. After finally making his pit stop on lap 38, Norris was able to make up a 15-second deficit and re-pass Verstappen to move up to fourth place.

In the background, Fernando Alonso rounded off a lonely race with sixth place, beating Alex Albon, who started on hard tires and had moved up to third place in the first stint.

Rookie Franco Colapinto put in a remarkable performance, following Albon home in eighth place and scoring points in his second Grand Prix appearance.

Lewis Hamilton made a solid comeback from a pit lane start to finish the race in ninth place after opting to have engine and suspension changes made overnight.

The impressive Oliver Bearman also scored his first point for Haas, relegating his experienced teammate Nico Hülkenberg to tenth place.

Yuki Tsunoda from RB retired after a collision with Lance Stroll from the Aston Martin on the first lap. The Japanese driver suffered irreparable underbody damage and Stroll suffered a puncture. The Aston Martin driver had to pit before the end of the race.

Thanks to the fastest lap, Norris was able to regain three points on Verstappen in his comeback race and reduce the gap to 59 points.

F1 Azerbaijan GP – Race Results