Piastri airs Baku concern in Azerbaijan GP victory hunt

Oscar Piastri has signalled the importance of gaining the lead early on at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix if he wishes to walk away with the victory.

Piastri will start the race from Baku in second place, sharing the front row with pole-sitter Charles Leclerc.

The Ferrari driver managed to beat nearest rival Piastri by over three-tenths of a second to bag his third pole position of the season, and his fourth in a row around the Baku Street Circuit.

Piastri’s final lap saw him tap the wall on the exit of Turn 15 – but the Australian conceded he had little to lose at that point.

“I just got a bit closer to the walls and on the last lap, I got a little bit too close,” he said. “I just tried to really get the most out of it.

“This track really rewards commitment. The last laps in Q3, I knew I had a lot less to lose, so I just tried to maximise the car. It was feeling good all the way through. I just didn’t maximise it that much in the first part of qualifying, but I’m very happy with P2.”

As the 23-year-old anticipates running into difficulties following rival cars, he is aiming to move ahead of Leclerc early on as he goes in hunt for his second career win.

“I think from where we’re starting, yes,” he said when asked if he can win on Sunday. “But I think following around here is going to be really tough.

“We saw yesterday that it was pretty tough once you get behind someone. So hopefully we can get some clean air.

“We’ll see how we do. I think our race pace is good, but again, the Ferrari is certainly not slow.”