F1 Results Today: Dramatic race ends with HUGE crash as championship lead changes

Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Netherlands, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Azerbaijan Grand Prix

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F1 Results Today: Dramatic race ends with HUGE crash as championship lead changes

All the times from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Sunday 15 September 2024 14:47

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Oscar Piastri gave a masterclass in defensive driving at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon, holding Charles Leclerc off for around 30 laps on wearing tyres before a dramatic crash saw the race end under a virtual safety car.

The pair were separated by less than a second for the entire second half of the race, Leclerc opening up his DRS on the long home straight every lap in an attempt to steal the race from the Australian – but was denied lap after lap until a brilliant 47th lap from Piastri broke the DRS link between them, allowing him to pull away for a famous win.

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Sergio Perez was in close attendance for that battle too, rarely more than a second and a half off Leclerc's tail as he lay in wait to pick up the pieces of any incident between the two, a brilliant comeback drive for 49 out of 51 laps from the master of the street circuits – which ended in disaster when he and the fast-finishing Carlos Sainz collided with on the penultimate lap, taking them both out of the race .

Further down the pack, Lando Norris shook off a dreadful qualifying session to work his way up through the pack on a long first stint before hunting down title rival Max Verstappen, passing him for fourth to draw marginally closer in the drivers' championship.

That, coupled with Perez dropping out of the points entirely, put McLaren ahead of Red Bull in the constructors' title, the first time that lead has changed hands in quite some time.

Further down the field, that crash handed Lewis Hamilton two points with a difficult recovery drive after starting from the pitlane, finishing ninth behind Williams rookie Franco Colapinto.

2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Final classification

1. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]
2. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]
3. George Russell [Mercedes]
4. Lando Norris [McLaren]
5. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]
6. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]
7. Alex Albon [Williams]
8. Franco Colapinto [Williams]
9. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]
10. Ollie Bearman [Haas]
11. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]
12. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]
13. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]
14. Zhou Guanyu [Kick Sauber]
15. Esteban Ocon [Alpine] - +1 lap
16. Valtteri Bottas [Kick Sauber] - +1 lap
17. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari] - DNF
18. Sergio Perez [Red Bull] - DNF
19. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin] - DNF
20. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB] - DNF