McLaren’s Oscar Piastri overtook Charles Leclerc and then survived intense pressure to claim his second career Formula 1 win in an enthralling Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Piastri completed a bold dive on Leclerc to seize the lead on Lap 20 and then held on with the Ferrari in his mirrors to triumph, with George Russell coming home third.
Both Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon were resigned to pitlane starts as Mercedes and Alpine elected to take on power unit elements that exceeded their allocation.
Alex Albon, Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris, languishing down in 15th, and Zhou Guanyu started on the Hard compound, while the rest all opted to go with the Medium.
Leclerc aced the start to remain untroubled on the short approach to Turn 1, as Sergio Perez got alongside Carlos Sainz and held the inside line at Turn 2 to take third.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen in the sister Red Bull was also on the move as he dispatched George Russell’s Mercedes to rise up into the top five behind Sainz’s Ferrari.
Lance Stroll endured a torrid start lower down as he incurred a puncture which slipped him to last position as Aston Martin team-mate Fernando Alonso held seventh.
F1 POINTS: Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship Standings after Azerbaijan
Elsewhere, Lando Norris was making moves to climb up three places into 12th on the opening two laps and then overtook Yuki Tsunoda’s RB at Turn 12 to claim 11th.
Tsunoda’s wish to not relinquish the place into Turn 1 against Norris compromised his run through Turn 2 and enabled Nico Hulkenberg to pass him going into Turn 3.
The Japanese racer’s tumble down the order continued as he slowed down the start-finish straight and lost additional places to Pierre Gasly and a charging Hamilton.
Back at the sharp end, Piastri was maintaining pace with Leclerc and not allowing the Ferrari to emerge clear as he slipped in and out of being within the DRS window.
However, the sixth lap saw Leclerc begin to unlock the lap time he had in reserve as he extended his margin out to over two seconds over Piastri’s McLaren in second.
Behind, Norris swept past Oliver Bearman’s Haas with ease into the opening corner to ascend up into the points positions, with the Williams drivers and Alonso ahead.
Bearman was beginning to struggle and was powerless to stop Haas team-mate Nico Hulkenberg passing him around the outside to seize 11th into Turn 1 on Lap 10.
Piastri was told that McLaren was targeting Plan B as Perez, who had been running under no pressure in third, had cut the gap to the Australian to under two seconds.
Williams decided to trigger movement in the pitlane as Franco Colapinto boxed on Lap 10 to move onto the Hards, prompting Aston Martin to respond on the next lap.
Verstappen had been complaining about how his car was handling during the opening stint and Red Bull took that as an incentive to pit him onto the Hards on Lap 12.
Russell would also come in as Mercedes elected to stop both cars with Hamilton enough distance back to pit on the same lap without having his progress intervened.
Perez closing up on Piastri granted Red Bull with the chance to execute an undercut attempt on a net second place, but McLaren opted not to respond on the next lap.
The Mexican had caught onto Norris’ tail and with newer rubber the Red Bull racer complained that the McLaren had held him up in the middle sector as Piastri pitted.
Piastri emerged ahead once Perez had overtaken Norris into Turn 1 using DRS, but the Briton’s roadblock through the twisting Baku streets had helped his team-mate.
Meanwhile, Tsunoda’s wretched recent run continued as the earlier contact he had with Stroll caused extensive damage to his sidepod and sent him into a retirement.
Leclerc completed his sole pit stop on Lap 17 and he came out with Albon behind him as the Williams man had Piastri’s McLaren and Perez’s Red Bull right on his tail.
Piastri managed to breeze past Albon into Turn 1 to put vital breathing room between him and Perez, who was made to endure another whole lap behind the Williams.
McLaren’s multiple-lap undercut on Ferrari meant that Piastri had been able to edge into DRS range and he made a late lunge into Turn 1 on Lap 20 to secure the lead.
Leclerc cut back underneath to have a glance down the inside at Turn 2, but the clean line on the outside helped Piastri to remain ahead to head the Ferrari and Perez.
The sister cars behind did battle as Sainz dispatched Norris into Turn 1 on Lap 23 to move into fourth spot, with Verstappen the next to set his sights on the McLaren.
Verstappen was in a position to attack Norris using DRS going into Turn 3 on Lap 24, but his championship rival placed his McLaren in the middle to protect the place.
Leclerc had courted Piastri without being close enough during several laps, but going onto Lap 28 the McLaren was made to cover the inside line to maintain the lead.
F1 RESULTS: Click here to view the Azerbaijan Grand Prix Race Result
Piastri was forced to replicate that move on Lap 31 as Leclerc again threatened. However, the Australian’s resolve was continuing to be undeterred against the Ferrari.
Albon had been holding Norris and Verstappen up until the stage when Williams stopped him onto the Medium compound, dropping him behind team-mate Colapinto.
Piastri was under pressure once more on Lap 33, but he was robust in his car placement as he moved across Leclerc at Turn 2 to avoid the Ferrari cutting underneath.
Verstappen’s miserable outing was continuing as Russell used the DRS aid to cruise past the Red Bull into Turn 1 on Lap 34 to relegate the Dutchman to seventh spot.
Hulkenberg had been reeling in Colapinto and the experienced German propelled his Haas into ninth position on the road as he stormed through using DRS on Lap 32.
Norris’ much-awaited change to the Medium compound arrived on Lap 38 and the Briton emerged in seventh place, over 15 seconds behind points leader Verstappen.
Leclerc reported to his race engineer that Piastri was starting to struggle and the Monegasque was in range again on Lap 41 to make the McLaren cover the first turn.
Hamilton’s showing had been subdued to this point, but the seven-time F1 champion muscled past his compatriot Bearman in the Haas to climb up into 12th position.
Norris had been mounting a late assault on the Mediums to post the quickest race lap and he utilised that blistering pace to overtake Verstappen at Turn 1 on Lap 49.
Piastri managed to escape DRS range as Leclerc struggled with his rear rubber, allowing Perez to be close enough to saunter past using the DRS approaching Turn 1.
However, Leclerc crept back up the inside and that enabled team-mate Sainz to also overtake the Red Bull driver, who then angled to retrieve third place exiting Turn 3.
But Sainz and Perez then ended up swerving into each other and connecting, putting both men in the wall and bringing out the Virtual Safety Car to conclude the race.
Piastri under the most immense pressure upon seizing the lead on Lap 20 came home to take the chequered flag with polesitter Leclerc’s challenge fading at the end.
Perez’s collision with Sainz denied the Mexican his first podium finish since the Chinese Grand Prix, moving Russell in the leading Mercedes car up into third position.
Norris’ 11-place rise saw him come home in fourth place with Verstappen behind to cut the championship gap to 59 points, with Alonso taking sixth for Aston Martin.
Albon headed Colapinto as Williams secured a double points result with seventh and eighth, while Hamilton and Bearman were promoted into the points at the death.
