Piastri passes Leclerc for Baku victory as Sainz and Perez crash on penultimate lap · RaceFans

Oscar Piastri passed Charles Leclerc and then held off the Ferrari driver to win an intense Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.

But the race was marred by a late crash between Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz Jnr which meant the race ended under Virtual Safety Car.

Leclerc finished second while the late collision promoted George Russell to the final podium place.

At the start, Leclerc held onto the lead from pole position with Piastri clotting into second behind him. Perez gained third place from Sainz, while Max Verstappen picked up fifth from George Russell.

Piastri kept within DRS range of the Ferrari over the early laps but Leclerc eventually pulled away, building up his lead to over five seconds. McLaren used Norris to help hold up Perez, who pitted to attempt an undercut on the McLaren driver, allowing Piastri to pit for hards and rejoin sill ahead of the Red Bull.

Leclerc eventually stopped at the end of lap 16, dropping only behind team mate Sainz, who was the last of the leaders to stop. That put Leclerc back into the race lead, with Piastri now around a second behind and Perez three seconds off the leader.

Piastri closed on the leader and got back within DRS range. He used the 100 metre longer DRS zone along the pit straight to help close on the Ferrari before diving up the inside into turn one to take the lead of the race for the first time.

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Leclerc stuck with the McLaren, keeping within DRS range for several laps. He got close enough to put the leader under pressure multiple times but was not able to make an attempt to pass.

Eventually, Sainz began to close on the three leaders, making it a four-way battle for the lead. Piastri put the hammer down and managed to escape out of reach of Leclerc before Sainz managed to overtake Perez to take third place.

As Perez fought back on Sainz at the exit of turn two, the pair made side-by-side contact, sending both into the wall. That brought out the Virtual Safety Car, effectively ending the race.

Piastri took the chequered flag for his second career victory with Leclerc taking second place. Russell was promoted to third after the crash, with Norris gaining fourth ahead of Verstappen. However, Verstappen will be investigated after the race for a Virtual Safety Car infringement.

Fernando Alonso took sixth ahead of the two Williams of Alexander Albon and Franco Colapinto. Lewis Hamilton was ninth as Oliver Bearman took the final point ahead of Haas team mate Nico Hulkenberg.