F1 Azerbaijan GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2024 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc starts on pole for Ferrari and is joined on the front row by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri – while title challenger Lando Norris endured a nightmare qualifying having dropped out in Q1 and starts from 15th.
Max Verstappen will look to take advantage of that but he also needs to make up ground starting in sixth for Red Bull.
The Azerbaijan GP starts at 12pm BST.
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Leclerc is asked to consider Plan C which isn't a late 00s singer we're familiar with. "Piastri is starting to struggle," Leclerc says over team radio, so he's not given up the fight yet to win it on track.
Norris returned to the track in seventh and is 15s behind Verstappen but is closing fast! There are battles for pretty much every position right now...except for fourth...that seems to belong to Sainz.
Perez has once again dropped off the pace of the top two, 2.7s back, as Piastri and Leclerc continue to match each other stride for stride with 13 laps to go.
In comes Norris from sixth for what will be his only planned stop of the day. Medium tyres to get him to the flag.
Colapinto allows team-mate Albon through but now has Bearman and Hamilton hot on his heels.
"Box opposite to McLaren," Leclerc is told, Piastri darts by the pitlane... and so does Leclerc. A dummy call but it is fooling nobody.
From ninth to 12th, the Haas and Williams drivers are engaged in a tense battle for points. 35 laps in, Hulkenberg has moved to the front of the pack, passing the impressive Colapinto.
Leclerc is given the hurry up by Ferrari: "Come on Charles, keep it up." Is the Italian squad starting to worry about his tyres in the dirty air of the McLaren?
Pushing Verstappen back to seventh, Russell pulls off the well trodden Turn 1 DRS move on the Red Bull.
"Leclerc's tyres look worse than yours at the rears, slightly better on fronts," Piastri is told over team radio.
That was the first time Piastri seemed to struggle on traction exiting Turn 1, which might give Leclerc a chance if those rear hard tyres are starting to struggle.
"I have no rear grip. The car is just jumping on the rear," says Verstappen. The world championship leader is having a nightmare grand prix - but remains sixth, so it's all about perspective!
This battle invites Perez back into the fight, as the top three are now covered by 1.2s.
Leclerc is starting to up the ante... Piastri defends the inside at Turn 1, almost kissing the inside wall, and Leclerc goes to the outside for the switch back to grab the inside line into Turn 2, but once again he finds a McLaren car in his path. Excellent defensive driving by the Australian.
As Albon pits, Russell joins the party and launches a dive on Verstappen into Turn 1. It doesn't come off, but the Mercedes has a significant pace advantage at present.
"Keep it nice and tidy, this is nice fighting," Leclerc is told over team radio. It is fair to say Leclerc isn't taking any risks with his moves for the lead... yet.
It seems that McLaren call was a ruse, however, as he's quickly instructed to instead remain on the track. We're getting all the classic F1 games here today!
"I just don't have the pace advantage. I can't get close enough," says Norris. McLaren hints it could try something, and he is summoned into the pits.
On to lap 31 and Piastri once again defends the inside of Turn 1 from Leclerc. Can he keep this up for the next 20 laps to win?
The DRS train of Albon, Norris and Verstappen has closed up significantly, with half-a-second separating each of the trio as they battle for fifth.
Where it was Leclerc doing well in sector one in the first stint, now it’s Piastri who is gaining there each time, before the Ferrari comes back to the McLaren later in the lap. That is a sign that Piastri is pushing harder on the... hards. But it does seem that the Ferrari is still very strong.
Here comes Leclerc! At the start of lap 29 Piastri commits to defend the inside line into Turn 1 early, so it forces Leclerc to hunt around the outside but thinks better of it.
Perez has lost DRS to Leclerc ahead and is dropping back - the two leaders are so far able to stay in the low 1m47s and the lead Red Bull can’t.
Piastri hasn't shaken off Leclerc, the gap between the leaders is 0.4s, as Perez continues to fractionally slip back in third, now 1.5s off Leclerc.
Norris and Verstappen have finally closed back onto the gearbox of Albon's Williams. Despite having DRS, neither can find a way past just yet.
Those that started on the hards - Albon, Norris, Gasly, Ricciardo, Zhou and Ocon - are just about to enter their pitstop windows to make the switch to mediums. Albon and Norris are really wrecking Verstappen's race as he cannot find a way by.
"The brakes are not working," reports Verstappen after coming close to running into the rear of Norris into Turn 15. Such was his problem, that he was forced to take to the escape road.
Piastri posts a new fastest lap of 1m47.066s to carve out a tenth on Leclerc, while Perez has slipped out of DRS range of the Ferrari driver.
Reminded to keep his tyre temperatures down by Mercedes, Hamilton gives a frustrated, "I know!"
But now title rivals Norris and Verstappen are nose to tail, as the McLaren driver defends for his life. Remember, Norris is yet to stop.
The top three are covered by 1.5s as we approach the midway point in this race. Leclerc had the pace in the first stint on mediums but now in the middle of the top three he cannot repeat the pace advantage on the hards.
In a moment of confusion as to which Ferrari was taking which McLaren, Sainz passes Norris into Turn 1 on lap 23, and progresses past Albon into fourth the following lap.
At the start of lap 22 both Leclerc and Perez have DRS but cannot make the top speed gains compared to Piastri in the McLaren. So it is as you were for another lap.
While all the focus is on the thrilling battle at the front, Colapinto is just about holding onto the final points-paying position. Gasly is 1.7s back with the margin relatively stable.
Where has Leclerc's pace gone? He was swanning clear on the mediums but now on the hard tyres he is in the thick of a fight for the win. He cannot attack Piastri into Turn 1 but is within a second of his rival - all the while Perez has closed up to the front two.
Piastri storms into the lead! The Australian grabs DRS and powers by Leclerc down the inside into Turn 1 and then fends off the Ferrari driver's response into Turns 2 and 3. That move caught Leclerc cold.
Leclerc’s out-lap was almost three seconds slower than Piastri’s - some of that will be having to be bed in his hards in the critical early traction zones, but it also shows that Ferrari did have something of a slower stop compared to McLaren and Red Bull.
On to lap 19 and Perez gets by Albon into Turn 1 but that lap behind the Williams has cost him around 1.5s to Piastri. Leclerc leads by 1s but Piastri is flying up towards him now.
Sainz pits from his one lap in the lead, taking on hards, and comes out in sixth. Piastri gets by Albon on the main straight to move back into second, with the Williams driver now holding up Perez.
Albon is a joker in the pack as he is third having not pitted yet, but he is giving Leclerc the chance to stretch clear of Piastri and Perez.
By: Autosport Staff
