'Piastri is McLaren's best driver' - GPFans' Azerbaijan Grand Prix hot takes
'Piastri is McLaren's best driver' - GPFans' Azerbaijan Grand Prix hot takes
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix well and truly delivered as the 2024 championship battle took yet another twist.
Oscar Piastri claimed the victory, with Charles Leclerc holding on to second place at the end, as his team-mate Carlos Sainz suffered a race-ending crash with Sergio Perez on the penultimate lap of the race.
F1 RESULTS: Dramatic race ends with HUGE crash as championship lead changes
Championship protagonists Lando Norris and Max Verstappen finished fourth and fifth respectively, with Norris getting the better of the three-time world champion despite starting the race down in 15th.
Perez's point-less weekend and Verstappen's struggles mean we have a new leader in the constructors' championship, with McLaren now favorites to claim their first constructors' title since 1998.
After a thrilling afternoon, here is what the GPFans team made of the race.
READ MORE: Hamilton snubbed as AMERICAN F1 star named sexiest driver
GPFans' Azerbaijan Grand Prix hot takes
Sam Cook - F1 Journalist
This race proved why Sergio Perez will be replaced by Red Bull before the end of the season.
Red Bull have been adamant all season that his performances will turn around with some of his favoured tracks to come between now and the end of the season, including Baku, a track where the Mexican is a two-time winner.
Yet, Perez comes away from Baku with zero points in 2024, the final nail in the coffin for Red Bull’s constructors’ championship lead.
Sure, Perez’s performance was on the whole pretty good, challenging for the race victory all the way through the race and outclassing team-mate Verstappen as he did in 2023 around the same circuit.
However, he still comes away with zero points in an another dismal result following a penultimate lap smash with Carlos Sainz.
I don’t think his Red Bull career will last much longer than his home race in Mexico.
Chris Deeley - US Editor
We so, so nearly got through an Azerbaijan Grand Prix without some kind of safety car, didn’t we? Then Sergio Perez happened. 49 laps of street track brilliance, then one moment of madness as he felt a podium slipping away from him.
Losing a nice point-scoring finish and letting McLaren take a 20-point lead in the constructors’ title? Bad. Potential penalty points coming up? Bad. Likely consequences from inside Red Bull? Don’t be ridiculous. The man’s bulletproof (and this constructors’ title was McLaren’s to lose anyway). The crash, bizarrely…probably doesn’t matter at all?
Speaking of McLaren, it’s looking more and more like the media circus about Lando Norris’ status as lead driver is going to seem asinine as soon as next season. Oscar Piastri is this team’s best driver. This might’ve been the drive of the season. The Brit gets the nudge from the team this year because of the points situation, but Piastri is this team’s future. Norris might have to start looking around for a number-one seat elsewhere before he hits his late-20s prime.
Kevin McKenna - F1 Journalist
It may have taken a while to get going, but boy did Baku deliver in the end.
A quite phenomenal performance from Oscar Piastri proved – as if we didn’t know already – that he is the real deal. It was a defensive masterclass from the Aussie to hold off pole-sitter Charles Leclerc and seal his second win of the season.
The McLaren star is very much the form man on the grid, having scored the most points over the past seven races.
Unfortunately, he won’t be in the hunt for a drivers’ title this time around, but he will be a force to be reckoned with going into 2025.
Elsewhere, it was a brilliant day for rookies Franco Colapinto and Ollie Bearman, who both finished in the points following the dramatic late collision which put Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz out of the race.
Piastri, Colapinto, Bearman. Who needs years of experience when you have this much talent?
Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist
Amongst the chaos of the closing stages of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, one star was overlooked in Baku - Franco Colapinto.
The Argentinian star has achieved exactly what Williams expected of him, recovering from a crash in FP3 to qualify ahead of Alex Albon on Saturday.
Colapinto achieving his first points finish is no mean feat, and given the work of his predecessor they ought to be lauded.
Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, threw away a result crucial for Ferrari in the constructors’ championship, and his crash with Sergio Perez served a major blow to the team when they could have claimed a double podium.
The Spaniard will of course move to Williams next season, leaving Colapinto without a seat, unless the likes of Audi or RB snap him up for next year.
However, after Sainz’s showing in Baku, Williams should consider retaining Colapinto, who is already displaying great talent and maturity despite his inexperience in F1.
Jay Winter - F1 Journalist
Despite Norris' lucky recovery - He still bottled the drivers' championship this weekend.
The yellow/white flag confusion during qualifying is no excuse. He should've had a banker lap in Q1 to avoid it.
Piastri, despite being nearly two years younger, already feels a lot more mature than Norris and will 100% claim a world championship title before him.
READ MORE: Concerning reports emerge ahead of F1's Las Vegas Grand Prix
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
2024 NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol: Bass Pro Shops Night Race start times, schedule and TV channels
- 1 uur geleden
F1 2024 Singapore Grand Prix weather forecast - latest today from Marina Bay
- 2 uur geleden
Perez's father rushed to hospital after son's Baku crash
- Today 03:00
Legend joins calls for NASCAR rule change
- Today 02:00
Kelly Piquet enjoys 'beautiful' trip away as Verstappen's woes persist
- Today 01:00
Ricciardo discusses career CHANGE as F1 future decision imminent
- Today 00:00
F1 Race Calendar 2024
-
GP JAPAN
5 - 7 Apr
Max Verstappen
-
GP CHINA
19 - 21 Apr
Max Verstappen
-
GP USA
3 - 5 May
Lando Norris
-
GP ITALY
17 - 19 May
Max Verstappen
-
GP MONACO
24 - 26 May
Charles Leclerc
-
GP CANADA
7 - 9 Jun
Max Verstappen
-
GP SPAIN
21 - 23 Jun
Max Verstappen
-
GP AUSTRIA
28 - 30 Jun
George Russell
-
GP GREAT BRITAIN
5 - 7 Jul
Lewis Hamilton
-
GP HUNGARY
19 - 21 Jul
Oscar Piastri
-
GP BELGIUM
26 - 28 Jul
Lewis Hamilton
-
GP NETHERLANDS
23 - 25 Aug
Lando Norris
-
GP ITALY
30 Aug - 1 Sep
Charles Leclerc
-
GP AZERBAIJAN
13 - 15 Sep
Oscar Piastri
- GP SINGAPORE 20 - 22 Sep
- GP USA 18 - 20 Oct
- GP MEXICO 25 - 27 Oct
- GP BRAZIL 1 - 3 Nov
Red Bull chief BLAMES driver following Azerbaijan GP crash
Norris HITS BACK at snitch claims following Verstappen incident
Hamilton makes HISTORY as Ferrari left red-faced - Things you may have missed at the Azerbaijan GP
Red Bull star receives FIA punishment verdict after Azerbaijan GP crash
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Franco Alejandro Colapinto
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Oliver Bearman
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- AWS Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860
Realtimes | Publishing Network
Copyright (©) 2017 - 2024 GPFans.com
Realtimes | Publishing Network