Formula 1: McLaren takes over constructors lead with Oscar Piastri win in Azerbaijan; Sergio Perez crashes

Red Bull’s lead in the Formula 1 constructors standings is gone.

McLaren took over first place with Oscar Piastri’s win in Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Piastri defended mightily against pole sitter Charles Leclerc over the final 15 laps and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez crashed out in the final laps while racing for third with Carlos Sainz.

Red Bull entered the race with an eight-point lead over McLaren. That lead is now a 20-point deficit thanks to Perez’s crash and Lando Norris’ drive all the way to fourth. Norris was eliminated in the first round of qualifying on Saturday and had to start 15th.

Norris started the race on the hard compound tire and ran long on his first stint before putting the medium tires on to end the race. The opposite strategy got him in front of Max Verstappen, the man he’s chasing for the driver’s title.

Verstappen ended up finishing fifth and bringing home the only points of the day for Red Bull. Perez is very good in Baku and was set to finish fourth at worst on lap 50 of the 51-lap race. But as he raced with the two Ferrari drivers Leclerc and Sainz, he made contact with Sainz and the two hit the wall.

Piastri started second

Leclerc got off to a good start and paced the field in the opening stint. Piastri took the lead not long after the leaders pitted for new tires in a Turn 1 move that Leclerc might not have seen coming.

Piastri led from there, though he had a hard time shaking Leclerc until the waning laps.

Piastri’s victory also comes the same week as McLaren said it would prioritize Norris if necessary given the state of the driver’s standings. Norris cut three points off Verstappen’s lead by finishing fourth and is now 58 points back of the three-time champion with seven races to go.

Verstappen still has to be considered the prohibitive favorite for the title, though it’s far from a formality. McLaren has been the fastest team in F1 over the summer and a DNF for Verstappen combined with a Norris win could really make things interesting.

What may be more intriguing in the short term is Perez’s status at Red Bull. The team said during the summer break that it was committed to Perez through the end of the season, but the crash and the resulting lack of points on Sunday is yet another blow to Perez’s future even if he wasn’t at fault.

Perez was in line to score at least 10 points before the crash and McLaren’s lead would have been less than 10. Instead, Red Bull’s quest for a third-straight constructors title is now a whole lot tougher.

Mercedes’ George Russell finished third behind Piastri and Leclerc as the race ended under a virtual safety car because of the crash. Russell’s teammate Lewis Hamilton was ninth after starting the race from the pit lane because of a late engine change.

Both Williams drivers finished in the points as Alex Albon was seventh and Franco Colapinto was eighth. Colapinto scored more points on Sunday in Azerbaijan than Logan Sargeant, the man he replaced two races ago, had accrued since the start of the 2023 season.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix results

1. Oscar Piastri

2. Charles Leclerc

3. George Russell

4. Lando Norris

5. Max Verstappen

6. Fernando Alonso

7. Alex Albon

8. Franco Colapinto

9. Lewis Hamilton

10. Oliver Bearman

11. Nico Hulkenberg

12. Pierre Gasly

13. Daniel Ricciardo

14. Zhou Guanyu

15. Esteban Ocon

16. Valtteri Bottas

17. Sergio Perez

18. Carlos Sainz

19. Lance Stroll

20. Yuki Tsunoda