2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

The critical moments in what was a quite brilliant Oscar Piastri victory around Baku were as follows:

Charles Leclerc, mesmerising in setting pole 0.3sec clear of Piastri, looked fully in control of this race by the latter half of the first stint. The Ferrari was balanced, aero-efficient, nicely driveable, good on its tyres and rotated beautifully through the slow corners.

It was a one-stop race with everyone towards the front starting on mediums and planning to switch to hards. Piastri had given chase, had darted around the back of the Ferrari at the end of the big DRS zone into Turn 1 for a few laps. But that had taken the best from the McLaren’s front tyres and by the time the pitstop window was opening, Leclerc led by almost 6sec and Sergio Perez’s Red Bull was on Piastri’s back.