Oscar Piastri once again demonstrated his credentials as a potential future Formula 1 champion after a measured performance to overcome the challenge of Charles Leclerc and win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Further back, a battle for the final podium place between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Pérez resulted in the pair colliding late on, handing third to George Russell.
Here are the winners and losers from an action-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri: 9.5
Grid Position: P2, Race Result: P1
Piastri was undoubtedly the star of the day, biding his time early on in the race before completing a clean but bold overtake on Leclerc on Lap 20. The move was made even better by his post-race revelation that he had ignored his race engineer to make the move after being told to conserve his tyres.
The remainder of the race was spent resisting the pressure Leclerc was constantly placing upon the McLaren driver, but he never looked likely of surrendering the lead, and under the Virtual Safety Car, would duly take his second F1 race win to cement his place in the top four of the Drivers’ table.
Lando Norris: 8.5
Grid Position: P15, Race Result: P4
After a disastrous qualifying with a Q1 exit, Norris began to quickly pick off those around him and work his way into the points during Sunday’s race. He found himself in the almost-inevitable position of racing title rival Max Verstappen for position, a position he duly took, with the Red Bull seemingly having no answer for the McLaren’s pace. After chipping away further into Verstappen’s title lead, Norris must be pondering ‘what if?’ had his Saturday gone according to plan.
Charles Leclerc: 8
Grid Position: P1, Race Result: P2
Coming into Baku on a high after his Monza triumph two weeks before, the Monegasque took pole after a tricky Friday, when he planted his Ferrari into the wall. But, undeterred, Leclerc stormed to P1 on Saturday, putting himself into prime position for victory.
However, he would have no answer for Piastri, who was on top of his game, despite his best and valiant efforts. Looking as if he may be able to overtake the McLaren, the Ferrari’s tyres appeared to be far too worn by the time of the final few laps to maintain that challenge, leaving him in the clutches of Perez, and team-mate Sainz, but the incident ensured his second place.
Leclerc was good value for his podium, who will be hoping for continuity in Ferrari’s rich vein of form at Singapore this weekend.
Carlos Sainz: 6.5
Grid Position: P3, Race Result: DNF
Whilst Piastri and Leclerc dominated much of the race, Sainz’s charge developed as the race wore on. With the end of the race nearing, he would be sat in fourth, with Perez third and the front two firmly in sight of both.
Sainz sat in waiting as Perez tried to overtake Leclerc, benefitting from his team-mate’s block of the overtake, taking third, but, with both men looking to get the benefit of the draught from Leclerc, he and the Mexican would touch, sending them both out. It would curtail a good drive from the Spaniard, who will hope for a repeat performance of his 2023 triumph in Singapore.
George Russell: 7.5
Grid Position: P5, Race Result: P3
Russell drove in a calm and measured way, a manner that F1 has come to expect from the King’s Lynn man. Out-qualifying team-mate Lewis Hamilton by four-tenths, Russell would ultimately fall away from the front four as the race wore on, but kept up fifth place, benefitting from the Sainz-Perez incident to claim his third podium of the year.
Lewis Hamilton: 7
Grid Position: Pit-Lane, Race Result: P9
Whilst starting from the foot of the field is always hard, it certainly isn’t Hamilton’s first rodeo. With the experience and enough pace to consider points not inconceivable, he would work his way towards the top-10, and took advantage of the late crash to gain two championship points.
Max Verstappen: 6.5
Grid Position: P6, Race Result: P5
There is no doubt that it is a tough time for Red Bull right now. Not only is its longstanding technical whizz Adrian Newey bound for Aston Martin next season, the RB20 is not the fastest car on the grid right now. However, it was Perez who wrung more out of it than Verstappen could when it mattered. A rare occasion that the World Champion was out-performed by his team-mate, and to boot, also out-performed by his chief title challenger Norris.
Sergio Perez: 7.5
Grid Position: P4, Race Result: DNF
Baku is undoubtedly one of the circuits that Perez seems to drive best on and he out-qualifyied Verstappen by two-tenths and two places. In the race, he seemed to emerge from the shadows that he has firmly been in for some time, and under different circumstances, might have finished a highly-impressive second. But the clash with Sainz meant he would leave Baku with nothing.
Fernando Alonso: 7
Grid Position: P7, Race Result: P6
The veteran Spaniard qualified over a second faster than team-mate Lance Stroll and maintained enough race pace to keep himself within the mix of the points, with Norris the only man who qualified behind him to gain track position on the Aston Martin. Only stopping once, Alonso raced on the same set of hards for over 40 laps, managing degradation well to take a top-six finish.
Lance Stroll: 5
Grid Position: P13, Race Result: DNF
Another tough day at the office for Stroll, whose race was effectively ended on the first lap after a tangle with Yuki Tsunoda caused a puncture, sending him into the pits and to the back of the field. Unable to progress towards the points, the Canadian’s miserable afternoon was ended early by a brake issue, retiring with a handful of laps left.
Alex Albon: 8
Qualifying: P9, Race Result: P7
When the Williams car is fast enough to challenge for points, the likelihood is that Albon will always be firmly in the mix to deliver. Making it into Q3 on Saturday, Albon was able to maintain race pace to keep him in the points, and finished just two seconds adrift of Alonso, with Verstappen only a further eight seconds up the road.
Franco Colapinto: 8
Grid Position: P8, Race Result: P8
Williams Team Principal James Vowels’ decision to drop Logan Sargeant in favour of Argentinian rookie Colapinto seems to have been firmly vindicated. Making it into Q3, he would out-qualify his team-mate by over three-tenths, and whilst he could not stay ahead of Albon in the race, he would be able to hold on to a top-10 finish. In only his second Grand Prix, Colapinto now has two more points than Sargeant managed in the entirety of his time in the team.
The result provoked a slew of praise from other drivers, as well as a flurry of speculation surrounding the rookie, with a move to Sauber hotly-rumoured.
Oliver Bearman: 7.5
Grid Position: P10, Race Result: P10
After narrowly missing-out on Q3, Bearman was able to start in 10th after Hamilton’s change of engine. The English youngster made his F1 debut in Jeddah, a tricky street circuit, and conveyed a sense of maturity and poise far beyond his years. At another difficult street circuit, Bearman would become the first F1 driver in history to score points for two different constructors in his first two Grands Prix.
Nico Hulkenberg: 6.5
Grid Position: P12, Race Result: P11
F1 qualifying specialist Hulkenberg found himself out-paced by Bearman on Saturday. In the race, the veteran German had the upper hand, only to slow too much through the Sainz/Perez incident to lose places to Hamilton and Bearman on the penultimate lap.
Pierre Gasly: 7.5
Grid Position: P18, Race Result: P12
After being disqualified on Saturday for his Alpine breaching the fuel flow limit, Gasly started from the back of the grid, and whilst the result would not bring him points, it was an impressive drive which saw him make the most of his car’s modest speed to take P12, running the whole race on hards until a late mandatory stop for softs.
Esteban Ocon: 5.5
Grid Position: Pit-Lane, Race Result: P15
A nightmare weekend for the second Alpine driver, with technical issues blunting his Friday and Saturday. Opting to start from the pit lane after changing PU components, Ocon could not extract as much good from a bad situation like his team-mate, being lapped on his way to a miserable 15th place.
Yuki Tsunoda: 4
Grid Position: P11, Race Result: DNF
Qualifying just outside the top-10, setting a fastest time on Saturday which was half-a-second quicker than team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, Tsunoda’s chances of fighting for F1 points were ended at the start after his collision with Stroll, which he deemed “unnecessary”. Despite trying to drive on, a hole in the RB’s bodywork was enough to bring his race to a premature conclusion.
Daniel Ricciardo: 4.5
Grid Position: P14, Race Result: P13
Is there any of the old spark left in the Honey Badger? Many in F1 might be continuing to ask this question with more frequency after a dismal outing for the Australian.
Nowhere near his team-mate in qualifying, Ricciardo would ultimately labour to P13, nearly half-a-minute behind Gasly. Those at the top at Milton Keynes might have much to think about with the end of the season approaching, as Kiwi youngster Liam Lawson continues to wait patiently in the wings.
Guanyu Zhou: 5.5
Grid Position: P17, Race Result: P14
Zhou’s qualifying performance could only yield a time almost four tenths off team-mate Valtteri Bottas, but he was able to finish ahead of the Finn, in the process being the last car to stay on the lead lap at the end.
Valtteri Bottas: 5
Grid Position: P16, Race Result: P16
The Sauber’s pace was once again not up to any standard, and Bottas was unable to stay ahead of his team-mate, as speculation grows regarding the veteran’s future in F1.
