Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, and Sergio Perez gave us an absolute barnstormer of a race in Azerbaijan, refusing to back down in a dramatic three-way fight to the finish. In the end, it was McLaren’s rising star, Piastri, who emerged victorious after a nail-biting duel that saw late drama as Perez and Carlos Sainz collided.

Leclerc had the upper hand in the early laps, but pit stop strategies turned the race in Piastri’s favour. As soon as he closed in on the back of the Ferrari, Piastri seized the lead and then defended with everything he had. The race ended under a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) after Perez and Sainz’s crash put them out of contention.

Only 18 cars lined up at the start, with Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon relegated to the pitlane for parc fermé violations. Leclerc, on pole for the fourth consecutive year but still hunting his first Azerbaijan victory, led Piastri into the tight Turn 1. 

Behind them, Perez muscled his way past Sainz for third, while Max Verstappen made up a position by overtaking George Russell. Lando Norris was on a charge too, moving from P15 to P13 on the first lap, and then P11 by Lap 3, overtaking Nico Hülkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda.

Tsunoda’s race began to unravel after an early incident with Lance Stroll at Turn 1, leaving the Aston Martin driver with a puncture. 

At the sharp end, Leclerc and Piastri exchanged fastest laps, with Perez running two seconds adrift and Sainz a further two behind. Meanwhile, Russell began to reel in Verstappen as Norris chased down Oliver Bearman for a points-paying position, which he claimed on Lap 8.

As Leclerc extended his lead, Russell encountered an unexpected problem—a plastic bag had lodged itself in his car’s airbox. Verstappen, on the other hand, was less than thrilled with his RB20’s performance, complaining about a lack of bite from the brakes. Franco Colapinto was the first of the top ten to pit, with Fernando Alonso, Verstappen, Russell, and Perez following suit, the latter giving up third place in the process.

McLaren opted to keep Piastri out, and Norris was instructed to hold up Perez—but only to the extent that it wouldn’t hurt his own race. Perez, unhappy with the situation, eventually got past Norris, but Piastri emerged ahead of Perez after his pit stop, though only just.

Leclerc, sporting a six-second lead, pitted and rejoined ahead of Piastri, with Alex Albon between them. Piastri, now charging hard, closed the gap to less than two seconds as the duo ran 1-2, while Perez regained third. 

By Lap 20, Piastri launched a decisive move down the inside of Leclerc at Turn 1, grabbing the lead. Leclerc tried to retaliate, but this battle allowed Perez to close up. Meanwhile, Bearman was locked in a fierce defence against Hamilton, with Britain’s newest F1 star fending off the country’s most successful driver.

Leclerc voiced frustration, claiming his rivals either had better grip or were pushing harder, while Sainz overtook Norris for fifth, Verstappen lurking behind. The Dutchman then encountered brake issues of his own, nearly crashing at Turn 15.

Despite being within DRS range of Piastri, Leclerc couldn’t find a way past lap after lap, with Perez waiting to pounce. Leclerc made a serious attempt on Lap 29 but was rebuffed, and the pattern repeated on Laps 31 and 33.

Further down the field, Hamilton vented over team radio, struggling to pass Bearman. Meanwhile, Russell was locked in a battle with Verstappen for sixth, both moving up a spot when Albon pitted. Verstappen’s complaints about grip persisted, and Russell finally overtook him on Lap 34.

With 15 laps to go, Piastri, Leclerc, and Perez were separated by less than two seconds, with Sainz in fourth. Norris, who still needed to pit, was in P5. Ferrari attempted to shake things up with some tactical mind games, urging Leclerc to do the opposite of Piastri regarding pit stops. McLaren didn’t flinch, though, pitting Norris on Lap 38 and dropping him to P7 behind Verstappen.

Leclerc continued his relentless assault on Piastri, but the Aussie held firm. On Lap 41, Leclerc tried again, but Piastri shut the door once more. Meanwhile, Hamilton finally cleared Bearman.

With three laps to go, Piastri broke DRS from Leclerc, while Perez began to reel in the struggling Ferrari. Leclerc, complaining of "no rear tyres," was now in defence mode. In a dramatic twist, Perez and Sainz collided at Turn 1 as they fought for position, bringing out the VSC.

With the race neutralised, Piastri took the chequered flag, his first win in Formula 1. Leclerc came home in second, with Russell grabbing the final podium spot. Norris secured P4, along with the fastest lap point, ahead of Verstappen and Alonso.

Race Results:

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1:47.258

2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) + 10.790

3. George Russell (Mercedes) + 31.722

4. Lando Norris (McLaren) + 35.565

5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) + 63.995

6. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) + 67.593

7. Alex Albon (Williams) + 68.287

8. Franco Colapinto (Williams) + 71.696

9. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) + 72.035

10. Oliver Bearman (Haas) + 74.946

11. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) + 76.750

12. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) + 80.528

13. Daniel Ricciardo (VCARB) + 117.977

14. Guanyu Zhou (Kick Sauber) + 111.033

15. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) + 1 LAP

16. Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber) + 1 LAP

Did not finish

Sergio Perez (Red Bull) – lap 51 – crash

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – lap 51 – crash

Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – Lap 47 – brakes

Yuki Tsunoda (VCARB) – Lap 16 – crash damage