Piastri's clinched a stunning victory at Azerbaijan GP

Oscar Piastri clinched a stunning victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, outmanoeuvring Charles Leclerc's Ferrari in a nail-biting race. The McLaren driver's second career win in Formula 1® came after a daring overtake that caught the pole-sitter off guard.

Leclerc's pole position advantage, secured with a brilliant qualifying performance, initially seemed unassailable. The Ferrari driver's strategy hinged on gently bringing the Pirelli tyres up to temperature during the early stages of each stint. This approach paid off in the first, relatively short stint on medium tyres, where Leclerc managed to keep Piastri at bay.

However, the race took an unexpected turn at the start of the second stint on hard C3 Pirelli tyres. Piastri, who had been pushing hard and seemingly overworking his tyres earlier, caught Leclerc napping. The Australian picked up DRS at the end of lap 19 and made a bold move into Turn 1, catching the Ferrari driver completely off guard.

Despite Leclerc's clear pace advantage, particularly through the slow-speed castle section, Piastri's calculated defence and the McLaren's superior straight-line speed kept him in the lead. As the stint wore on, Leclerc's rear tyres began to suffer from following the McLaren so closely, hampering his efforts to reclaim the lead.

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The closing laps of the race brought even more drama as Sergio Perez's Red Bull and Carlos Sainz's Ferrari joined the fray. A collision between Perez and Sainz on the penultimate lap while battling for third place brought out the virtual safety car, under which the race finished.

George Russell inherited the final podium spot in his Mercedes, while Lando Norris made an impressive recovery drive from 15th to finish fourth.

Piastri's victory continues his strong run of form, having outscored everyone over the past seven grands prix. The win also marks a significant moment in the title fight, with Norris unexpectedly taking three points out of Max Verstappen's championship lead.

The final standings for the top 10 drivers were:

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3. George Russell (Mercedes)
4. Lando Norris (McLaren)
5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
6. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
7. Alex Albon (Williams)
8. Franco Colapinto (Williams)
9. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
10. Ollie Bearman (Haas)