Oscar Piastri emerged victorious in the Azerbaijan GP after fending off Charles Leclerc for over half the race. The outcome of his afternoon in Baku could have been quite different, however, had Sergio Perez—in his Red Bull—gotten clear air after undercutting the Aussie. Piastri, in a recent interview, revealed how his teammate Lando Norris prevented that from happening.
Piastri credited Norris for his win. As reported by AMuS, he said, “Baku showed how we do things at McLaren. If Lando hadn’t stopped Perez after the first pit stop, I might not have won. He has a share in my victory.”
Papaya rules
And Oscar was in no mood to wait around #F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/6wnNtYF7QV
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 1, 2024
Perez was the first among the front-runners to pit in hopes of undercutting Piastri. Unfortunately, he came out behind Norris, who had started from P17 after a rather disastrous qualifying. Although Perez was faster than the Briton, Norris held the Mexican driver up for a significant amount of time, which allowed Piastri to pit, and come out in front.
In the end, Perez crashed out following a collision with Carlos Sainz. But had the 34-year-old gotten clean air after his stop, he could have challenged for the win, such was Red Bull’s pace in Baku.
Norris’ help came despite the build-up to the race suggesting it would be the other way around. Team Principal of McLaren, Andre Stella, revealed that Piastri would help his teammate in his bid to win the Constructors’ Championship.
But Norris kept that thought aside to aid Piastri in getting his second-ever F1 win, something the latter won’t forget.
Piastri will repay Norris’ Azerbaijan favor
With just six races remaining in the F1 season, Norris does not have a lot of time to close the gap to Max Verstappen, as he eyes his first World Championship. Currently, he is 52 points behind the Dutchman, and needs all the help he can from his team, and Piastri.
Piastri appreciated Norris’ help in Baku, and his ‘how we do things at McLaren’ comment all but confirmed that if Norris is in a place where he could use his assistance, he won’t hesitate.
Nonetheless, in the Singapore GP, Norris didn’t require any help. He started the race from the pole position, and dominated, to win his third Grand Prix of the season. However, things will be tricky for the Bristol-born driver heading into this final stretch of the season.
Even if he wins all the remaining races (and one Sprint), Verstappen finishing second in each would still be enough for the Red Bull driver to retain his title. This is where Piastri’s role in preventing that outcome could become crucial.
