Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
A stunning overtake to win the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix came because Oscar Piastri called his own shot
In the hours since Oscar Piastri’s dramatic win in the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, much has been made of his exhilarating overtake of Charles Leclerc at the start of Lap 20. The Australian driver, with the benefit of DRS, pulled within 20 meters of the Ferrari in front of him before diving to the inside, braking at the last possible instant to make the overtake stick.
From there, Piastri did not look back. While Leclerc threatened his lead a few times, the McLaren driver held on for his second Grand Prix win of the season, a victory that propelled the Woking-based team to the top of the F1 standings:
Speaking in the FIA Press Conference after the race, Piastri noted that the overtake was a matter of calling his own shot.
“It’s what won me the race,” began Piastri when asked about the pass on Leclerc.
“I felt a bit sorry for my race engineer [Tom Stallard] because I basically tried to do that in the first stint and completely cooked my tires. So my engineer came on the radio and said, ‘let’s not do that again’, basically. And I completely ignored him the next lap and sent it down the inside,” described Piastri.
The McLaren driver noted that he did not think patience would be a virtue on Sunday. Had he waited to make a move, hoping Leclerc’s tires would wear out, he might not have had a chance to win.
“I think at that point, you know, I felt like trying to stay back and wait for Charles to deg was never going to happen. I thought we was just going to secure us P2. So, yeah, you know, I had a similar opportunity in the first stint,” continued Piastri. “I felt like on lap two or three, I was, I think, just within DRS, but didn’t fully capitalize on that opportunity. And I got to the end of the straight thinking ‘if I had have done a couple of things a bit differently here, I maybe had a chance’. So when I had a similar opportunity after the pit stop, I had to take it. And yeah, I wouldn’t be sat here without that.”
Despite his advice being ignored, things did pan out for Stallard.
After all, he got to join Piastri on the podium after the race:
Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Not a bad way to end the day.
