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Was Piastri’s masterclass the drive of the season so far?

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Was Piastri’s masterclass the drive of the season so far? | Top Gear

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Aussie driver absolutely sent it past Charles Leclerc, then defended P1 like his life depended on it

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Was Piastri’s masterclass the drive of the season so far?

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Aussie driver absolutely sent it past Charles Leclerc, then defended P1 like his life depended on it

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Was Piastri’s masterclass the drive of the season so far?

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Aussie driver absolutely sent it past Charles Leclerc, then defended P1 like his life depended on it

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Was Piastri’s masterclass the drive of the season so far?

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Was Piastri’s masterclass the drive of the season so far?

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Aussie driver absolutely sent it past Charles Leclerc, then defended P1 like his life depended on it

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Who writes these scripts, honestly? Just days after McLaren committed to using team orders in aid of Lando Norris’s title bid, it was Norris who ended up playing the team game to help Oscar Piastri take the chequered flag.

The young Australian - who let’s not forget is just 18 months into his F1 career - was utterly brilliant in Azerbaijan: starting from the front row of the grid, it looked like victory was beyond him in the first 20 laps as polesitter Charles Leclerc cruised into a six-second lead.

And then Piastri very nearly lost P2 as Sergio Perez - Baku’s only repeat winner to date and a verified demon on street tracks like this - threatened to edge ahead using the undercut.

Time to call in a favour from the second papaya car. Lando Norris started from P15 through no fault of his own after a yellow flag forced him out of qualifying in Q1, but mid-way through his recovery drive he was perfectly positioned to delay the charging Mexican. Holding up Checo cost the embattled Red Bull driver vital time, allowing Oscar to retain second place.

[node:field_onward_journey_card-themed]

And oh boy did he make the most of it. Having somehow wiped out Leclerc’s comfortable gap, Piastri got a run down the main straight and made a lunge for the lead, catching Leclerc off guard. The Monegasque later admitted he expected the McLaren to just plough straight on, and even Piastri later said it was “50:50” if he’d make the corner. What a move.

But that was only half the job done. With 30-odd laps still to go, Piastri delivered a masterclass in defensive driving, barely giving Leclerc a sniff with the DRS and on the rare occasion that he did, hugging the inside line like his car was a carbon fibre limpet.

With a handful of laps to go Leclerc’s tyres were cooked, and the win was sealed when Perez and Carlos Sainz buried each other in the wall, bringing out the virtual safety car.

The victory is Piastri’s second in five races following that maiden win in Hungary, and Norris’s equally impressive recovery to fourth - breezing past championship leader Max Verstappen along the way - means McLaren now leads the constructors’ standings for the first time in over 10 years. Wow.

Anyhow, that’s got to be one of the winning drives of 2024. Where do you rank it alongside Sainz’s hospital-to-top-step recovery, Hamilton’s Silverstone redemption, Russell’s Belgian one-stop (yes, we know it didn't count in the end), Norris’s Dutch domination and Leclerc’s Monza success? And not forgetting any of Verstappen’s early lights-to-flag triumphs, of course.

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Who writes these scripts, honestly? Just days after McLaren committed to using team orders in aid of Lando Norris’s title bid, it was Norris who ended up playing the team game to help Oscar Piastri take the chequered flag.

The young Australian - who let’s not forget is just 18 months into his F1 career - was utterly brilliant in Azerbaijan: starting from the front row of the grid, it looked like victory was beyond him in the first 20 laps as polesitter Charles Leclerc cruised into a six-second lead.

And then Piastri very nearly lost P2 as Sergio Perez - Baku’s only repeat winner to date and a verified demon on street tracks like this - threatened to edge ahead using the undercut.

Time to call in a favour from the second papaya car. Lando Norris started from P15 through no fault of his own after a yellow flag forced him out of qualifying in Q1, but mid-way through his recovery drive he was perfectly positioned to delay the charging Mexican. Holding up Checo cost the embattled Red Bull driver vital time, allowing Oscar to retain second place.

And oh boy did he make the most of it. Having somehow wiped out Leclerc’s comfortable gap, Piastri got a run down the main straight and made a lunge for the lead, catching Leclerc off guard. The Monegasque later admitted he expected the McLaren to just plough straight on, and even Piastri later said it was “50:50” if he’d make the corner. What a move.

But that was only half the job done. With 30-odd laps still to go, Piastri delivered a masterclass in defensive driving, barely giving Leclerc a sniff with the DRS and on the rare occasion that he did, hugging the inside line like his car was a carbon fibre limpet.

With a handful of laps to go Leclerc’s tyres were cooked, and the win was sealed when Perez and Carlos Sainz buried each other in the wall, bringing out the virtual safety car.

The victory is Piastri’s second in five races following that maiden win in Hungary, and Norris’s equally impressive recovery to fourth - breezing past championship leader Max Verstappen along the way - means McLaren now leads the constructors’ standings for the first time in over 10 years. Wow.

Anyhow, that’s got to be one of the winning drives of 2024. Where do you rank it alongside Sainz’s hospital-to-top-step recovery, Hamilton’s Silverstone redemption, Russell’s Belgian one-stop (yes, we know it didn't count in the end), Norris’s Dutch domination and Leclerc’s Monza success? And not forgetting any of Verstappen’s early lights-to-flag triumphs, of course.

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Aussie driver absolutely sent it past Charles Leclerc, then defended P1 like his life depended on it