Oscar Piastri hailed his victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as his greatest to date, after fending off relentless pressure from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to propel McLaren to the top of the Formula One standings.
Having passed pole-sitter Leclerc on lap 20 in Baku, the 23-year-old Australian driver had to defend lap after lap as the Ferrari looked for a way past.
On the second to last lap, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez collided heavily, effectively bringing out the safety car and securing victory.
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“For me it was probably the best win of my career. Trying to withstand the pressure for so long in that race was incredibly difficult,” Piastri said of his second career F1 victory.
“That was probably the most stressful afternoon of my life,” he added.
Piastri’s victory came after McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said he wanted to support team-mate Lando Norris in his title battle with Red Bull’s three-time world champion Max Verstappen.
On Sunday, the roles were reversed, with Norris being asked to help his teammate by holding off the Red Bull’s hard-charging Perez, allowing the Australian driver time to switch to fresh tyres and hold on to the lead.
“Is there anything I can do to slow Perez down without getting hurt?” Norris, who had not yet pitted and was just ahead of Perez, was asked by his engineer.
The teamwork paid off as Piastri maintained second place after his pit stop, with the Australian driver overtaking Leclerc to become the top scorer on the grid over the last seven rounds.
“I think I’ve been doing well throughout this season in Europe and I’m still doing well but, yes, it’s not just my fault,” Piastri said.
“We had a car that we could battle with. We had pit stops that we could battle with. We had teamwork that we could battle with. And it all paid off.”
Norris, who finished fourth after starting 15th and reducing Max Verstappen’s overall lead to 59 points, said it was “good team play” and that it made him “most happy”.
“I’ve done my small part for the team and it’s helped us to finish first in the constructors’ championship so I’m very happy,” he told reporters.
McLaren has always maintained that it does not view its drivers as primary or secondary.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner suggested that having two drivers racing on equal terms could backfire, especially “when the second driver starts to outperform the first”.
“Obviously at the beginning of the season everything is up in the air, but halfway through the season you have to choose your horse, especially if you’re fighting for a championship,” he said.
