Oscar Piastri showed off his mental prowess at the 2024 Azerbaijan GP by perfectly reading the race picture to claim a dramatic victory at the Baku City Circuit on September 15 but just how did he take his second career win?
Starting behind Charles Leclerc, it seemed as though the race wasn’t in contention through the opening stint of the race as the leading Ferrari opened up a comfortable gap of around six seconds which often makes a Grand Prix a formality.
But it all swung around during the pit stop phase when he found himself back in contention after successfully defending his place from Sergio Perez’s fast-charging Red Bull, so how did he go on take the win by the Caspian Sea?
Oscar Piastri’s expert race-reading ability
The 23-year-old Australian is known for his very cool head behind the wheel and his exceptional ability to decisively read the race picture and make the bold decisions needed to give himself a stronger hand and that’s exactly what he did at the 2024 Azerbaijan GP.
The moment came on Lap 20 when he made an audacious lunge on Leclerc into Turn 1 from far back, managing to scoop the car up on the exit before slamming the door firmly shut in the face of his rival through Turn 2.
It wasn’t something anyone, including Ferrari, were expecting him to do at that moment but it turned out to be a race-winning brave move by earning him the crucial free air he described as “king” at the 2024 Belgian GP.
More from the Singapore GP
Catch up with Total Motorsport's latest Singapore GP coverage, including Max Verstappen's victory at Marina Bay, Ferrari's costly strategy gamble, the full race classification, and the updated 2026 Formula 1 Drivers' and Constructors' Championship standings.
From there, he kept squeezing out just enough of a margin to ensure that Leclerc couldn’t get close enough to make an overtake back on the McLaren into Turn 1 whilst he also focused on keeping his hard tyres alive.
“After the stop it felt like we had a bit of extra grip and I had to go for it,” Piastri said to F1 TV after the 2024 Azerbaijan GP. “I knew if I didn’t get past at the start of the stint I was never going to get past.
“I went for a pretty big lunge but I managed and then hung on for dear life for the next laps. Once he dropped out of DRS it was a little bit more relaxing but there’s no relaxing lap around here.”
Leclerc eventually fell off out of DRS range of Piastri after cooking his hard tyres in his quest to claim victory for Ferrari, and it ultimately led to a crash between Carlos Sainz and Perez on the second-to-last lap.
But for Piastri it was all celebrations and joy after perfectly judging the race conditions and making the exceptional overtake needed to control the race by using his tyres up at the right time, when everyone else was under the misconception of slow and steady wins.
Mental fortitude of Piastri helps win 2024 Azerbaijan GP
As mentioned above, the Australian is noted for his cool composure behind the wheel and rarely seems phased by anything at all, including when one of the best drivers on the grid is constantly trying to overtake.
Leclerc had a lot of looks into Turn 1 and very rarely spooked the McLaren into defending empty air, and in the few times Piastri actually chose to do so he made no mistakes in a display of great mental fortitude.
There were no lock-ups, no squirrely moments at the exit of Turn 1 or Turn 2 and no moments of understeer or going to deep, it was just freakishly good composure from the 23-year-old, who was driving as though he had the experience of Fernando Alonso rather than a man in his second season.
It’s the trait of a future F1 world champion and Piastri proved to McLaren, after the saga of the 2024 Hungarian GP in July, that he can deliver for Andrea Stella’s team when he’s put under pressure.
