Piastri relieved after ‘hanging on for dear life’ to beat Leclerc and claim Baku victory

Oscar Piastri expressed his delight – and relief – after coming out on top in a fierce battle for victory during Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, having been hounded by Charles Leclerc over the second half of the race.

Leclerc maintained his pole position advantage at the start to lead the opening stint, but Piastri piled the pressure on shortly after the front-runners made their sole pit stops to swap medium tyres for hards – getting within DRS range and attacking for P1.

READ MORE: Piastri edges out Leclerc for dramatic Azerbaijan GP win amid late-race chaos

At the start of Lap 20, Piastri boldly dived up the inside of Leclerc to complete the move and, while the Ferrari driver clung on and tried to fight back on several occasions, the Australian had just enough in hand to maintain position.

Leclerc’s fading tyres gave Piastri a little bit of respite in the closing laps, before a dramatic crash involving Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz brought out the Virtual Safety Car and confirmed the second Grand Prix win of his career.

Reflecting on the battle, Piastri said: “I tried at the start of the race to get in front but once I dropped out of DRS [range] I just didn’t have the pace. After the stop, I saw we were pretty close again and I felt like we had a little bit of extra grip and I had to go for it.

AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from the Azerbaijan GP as Piastri beats Leclerc while Perez and Sainz collide late on

“I knew that if I didn’t get past at the start of the stint, I was never going to get past, so I went for a pretty big lunge but managed to pull it off and then hang on for dear life for the next 35 laps.

“The last couple of laps, once [Leclerc] dropped out of DRS, were a little bit more relaxing, but there’s no such thing as a relaxing lap around here, so it was hard work. It definitely goes down as one of the better races of my career.”

Piastri’s triumph, along with team mate Lando Norris’s recovery from 15th to fourth, means McLaren now lead the constructors’ championship by 20 points over Red Bull – who endured the disappointment of Perez’s late crash and took fifth with Max Verstappen.

Asked how it feels to help brng McLaren back to the top of the standings, Piastri added: “Considering where we started when I joined the team last year, we were literally last and now we are leading the world championship.

DRIVER OF THE DAY: Piastri gets your vote after peerless Baku win

“It’s full credit to the team for the turnaround we’ve managed to have in my 18 months here. Firstly, in terms of improving the car, but helping me improve as well.

“Results like this definitely weren’t possible 12 months ago for myself, so it’s a massive team effort and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”

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