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Mclaren's Oscar Piastri emerged victorious at the end of a thrilling Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2024. He edged out Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the penultimate moments of the race. Charles achieved a pole position in Baku making this his fourth consecutive pole position in this Formula One season. He also kept the lead in the early stages but Piastri overhauled him. This was Piastri's maiden Azerbaijan Title and he did it when the pressure was highest as McLaren was pushing for the title run against Max Verstappen.
What Happened in the race?
After Piastri trailed in the 51-lap encounter he pushed himself to overtake Leclerc. Then it became a four-way title race with Piastri, Leclerc, Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz battling it out. Piastri overtook Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on lap 20 and held the lead till the last lap.
The end of the race was a late collision between Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Red Bull's Sergio Perez. The win is a booster for Mclaren as they have now been handed a 20-point boost over Red Bull with seven races still left to play out. Leclerc finished second in the race missing out on a title at Baku. George Russell of Mercedes was third as he benefitted from the crash between Sainz and Perez.
"That was probably the most stressful afternoon in my life...It definitely goes down as one of the better races of my career," Piastri said after the race.
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2024 Driver Standings after Azerbaijan GP
1. Max Verstappen - 313 points
2. Lando Norris - 254 points
3. Charles Leclerc - 235 points
4. Oscar Piastri - 222 points
5. Carlos Sainz- 184 points
6. Lewis Hamilton- 166 points
7. George Russel - 143 points
8. Sergio Perez - 143 points
9. Fernando Alonso - 58
10. Lance Stroll - 24
Piastri's subtle reply to Mclaren
Before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Mclaren had announced that they would prioritize their star driver Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri in the title bid for the remaining eight races of the season. Norris is Max Verstappen's closest competitor in the drivers' standings. Oscar Piastri after Mclaren's announcement agreed to play the supporting role but his recent success has surely an underlying message for the Mclaren side.
"The team have asked me to help out and I’ve said for the last few races that if I was asked, then I would,. Of course, naturally as a driver it’s never an easy thing, or simple thing, to agree to. There’s a much bigger picture in play than just myself. I’m still coming out here to try and achieve the best results I can and put myself in a good position to just score a lot of points for myself and also the team. I know that if there are some ways of helping the points for Lando, then I’ll do that," Piastri earlier said.
With seven races left for the season , McLaren leapfrogs Red Bull in the Constructors standings and two of their superstar drivers are in the Top 4 challenging Verstappen for the title run.
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