Piastri wins as McLaren take lead in Constructors’ Championship

Piastri wins as McLaren take lead in Constructors’ Championship: Analysis of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, brought to you by Bahrain International Circuit

Coming in to the latest race weekend, it felt like any of the top eight had a chance of victory, something that we have been accustomed to in recent races. For some at the front, however, this race has not been a particularly happy hunting ground. Prior to this weekend, McLaren had never finished in the top five in Azerbaijan, whilst Charles Leclerc had been on pole three times and failed to convert any of those into a victory.
Conversely, Perez had a good track record, as he often does on street circuits, being the only driver to have won this race twice.

Although it’s a street circuit, Baku is the 4th longest track on the calendar and is characterized by long straights. Not only is it hard to overtake, but it’s also seen as a difficult track to follow cars in front. That made qualifying that much more important. There was early disaster for Lando Norris, as a yellow flag ruined his run in the first qualifying session, leaving him stranded in 16th place. He would need something very special for that not to dent his championship hopes. Verstappen could only partially capitalize as his car was struggling on the street circuit and could only qualify sixth. At the front, Leclerc secured pole by 0.3 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri, followed by Sainz, Perez and Russell. As expected, the top five were tight, with less than half a second between them. In addition to Norris, Lewis Hamilton was another driver starting further back than expected, as he took a penalty for an engine change and started from the pit lane.

As far as race strategy was concerned, history shows that a one stop was the preferred option for the race. Most cars would start on the medium tyre to start, with a shorter first stint and a move to the hard tyre at around one third distance. There were a couple of notable exceptions, including Norris who started on the hard, aiming for a longer first run.

As the race got underway, Leclerc got off to the perfect start, with Piastri holding place in second, whilst Perez managed to take Sainz into third. The first round of pit stops started around lap 10, with Verstappen amongst a group stopping around lap 13. The Ferraris managed to stretch to laps 17 and 18, whilst Norris and Albon in the Williams were trying to go as long as possible on the harder tyres. That first round worked in favour of Piastri, who closed right up to Leclerc, with the gap having been four seconds prior to the stops. Piastri then pounced on lap 20 and took the lead. The top three remained incredibly tight in the middle section of the race. Piastri could not shake off Leclerc and Perez remained also in the hunt. Almost every lap there was a challenge to Piastri from Leclerc, whilst the Ferrari driver was also having to keep an eye on his rear-view mirror with Perez very close by.