Baku (Azerbaijan), Sep 15 The 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was full of chaotic moments but after hanging on for nearly 30 laps, it was Oscar Piastri who pipped Charles Leclerc to win the race. The Australian deemed it to be ‘one of the better races’ of his career.
“I went for a pretty big lunge and managed to pull it off and hang on for dear life for the next 35 laps. The last couple of laps when Leclerc dropped out of DRS were a little bit more relaxing but there’s no such thing as a relaxing lap around here so it was hard work. I think that definitely goes down as one of the better races of my career,” said Piastri in the post-race interview.
Oscar Piastri’s win was McLaren’s first win at the Baku City Circuit and took them past Red Bull in the race for the Constructors Championship. The British car manufacturer now sits 20 points ahead of Red Bull, with 476 points, and hopes to end their reign which has seen them win the trophy for the past two seasons.
“Considering where we started when I joined the team last year, we were literally last, and now we are leading the world championship. It’s full credit to the team and for the turnaround we’ve managed to have, first in terms of improving the car but also helping me improve as well,” he added.
Piastri overtook Leclerc in the 20th lap and did not give the Monegasque driver any room to fight back into the race. Leclerc went on to admit the team’s mistakes and said he would learn from it.
"It is enjoyable, you've got many opportunities every lap. I think maybe McLaren had less downforce and in the straights they were very quick, in the corners we were a bit quicker. I couldn't get as close as I wanted and eventually we lost the race when I didn't defend as well as I could have at the end of the straight. Sometimes you make mistakes and I'll learn from it," said Piastri.
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