Oscar Piastri ignored a name for persistence from race engineer Tom Stallard earlier than making his race-winning lunge to overhaul Charles Leclerc for the lead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Piastri battled Leclerc arduous within the opening laps of the race, believing clear air to be key to victory, however overused his medium tires within the course of, dropping him to five.9s adrift by the point he made his pit cease on lap 15. Solely Leclerc’s sluggish laps into and out of pit lane introduced Piastri again into competition instantly after the Monegasque made his cease one lap later.
The Australian was implored to take a unique tack together with his second likelihood. McLaren analyzed his used medium tires and located he’d overused them, and he’d need to be a lot gentler together with his new set of hards to get them the 36 laps to the checkered flag. Piastri gave that concept brief shrift, leaning closely on his tires for a late-braking overtake on lap 20 to take a lead he’d by no means relinquish.
“I felt a bit sorry for my race engineer as a result of I principally tried to try this within the first stint and fully cooked my tires,” Piastri stated. “My engineer got here on the radio and stated, ‘Let’s not try this once more,’ principally, and I fully ignored him the following lap and despatched it down the within.
“It’s what received me the race.”
Piastri stated he didn’t see the logic in taking part in a affected person recreation in behind a automobile that was at the very least a match for the McLaren.
“I believe at that time I felt like attempting to remain again and watch for Charles to deg was by no means going to occur,” he defined. “I assumed he was simply going to safe us P2.
“An identical alternative [came] within the first stint. I felt like on lap two or three I used to be simply inside DRS however didn’t absolutely capitalize on that chance.
“I obtained to the top of the straight considering, ‘If I had have executed a few issues a bit otherwise right here, I perhaps had an opportunity.’ So once I had an analogous alternative after the pit cease, I needed to take it.
“[The move] was a high-risk, high-commitment … however that’s what I wanted to do to try to win the race, as a result of I wasn’t actually going to be that eager to complete second.”
He was unable to drag away from Leclerc as soon as in first place, with the Ferrari doggedly pursuing the lead.
“I knew that stepping into the lead was going to be, let’s say, 40 p.c of the job, however that hanging on to it was going to be 60 p.c, and I knew that I’d use the tires fairly closely to try to get in entrance and I knew what sort of affect that had within the first stint,” he stated.
“Simply attempting to maintain Charles behind was extremely demanding. I couldn’t make a single mistake. I made a pair, however at a monitor like Baku it’s inconceivable to be driving flat out and never make any. I used to be simply lucky that they weren’t large enough that it value me.
“The entire 30 laps the place I used to be attempting to maintain Charles behind was extremely powerful.
“I believe for me that must be among the finest races I’ve executed.”
Victory is the newest large lead to a robust run of type for Piastri who’s the game’s highest scoring driver over the past 11 rounds. His 25 factors additionally helped propel McLaren to the lead of the constructors championship for the primary time greater than a decade.
“It’s not simply right down to me,” he stated. “We’ve had a automobile that’s been very fast and persistently fast in a number of locations, and even when we’ve not essentially been the outright quickest all over the place, we’ve been in with an opportunity all over the place.
“At the moment was undoubtedly a type of days the place we weren’t essentially the quickest, however we had a automobile that might put us within the struggle. We had a pit cease that might put us within the struggle. We had some teamwork that put us within the struggle, and all of it managed to repay.
“I really feel like I’ve been driving effectively. It’s been clicking a bit extra for me this yr by way of the issues I wish to work on from final season. Mix that with a automobile that’s able to successful, and outcomes like this are potential.”
