By Joe Murphy
Oscar Piastri doubled his winning tally in Formula 1 with a truly sensational drive in Azerbaijan this past Sunday. Charles Leclerc qualified on Pole and lead for much of the race but it was the Australian who got ahead and then, crucially stayed ahead, to take the 25-point haul.
The man from Monaco was in the McLaren’s DRS range for over two dozen laps, but couldn’t get by after some masterful defence by the young Aussie. Elsewhere, despite Sergio Perez having his race of the season (totally outperforming Max Verstappen for only the first time this season) a last lap collision with Ferrari’s Carlo Sainz saw both men drop out of third and fourth respectively and immediately retire from the race, handing George Russell an unexpected podium for the Mercedes man.
Regarding the wider title picture, Lando Norris closed the gap on leader Max Verstappen, despite qualifying 11 places behind the Dutchman. His 4th place + fastest lap helped his title chances with Verstappen only able to finish 5th.
Fernando Alonso had a very strong race for Aston Martin, crossing the line behind the VSC in 6th for some valuable points for Adrian Newey’s new team.
Further back, Williams scored double points on a very successful day for the team. Alex Albon drove a spectacular effort, but plaudits must go to Franco Colapinto on his first points-scoring outing.
Lewis Hamilton can but a frustrating weekend behind him as he claimed points, as did Haas as we head to Singapore.
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