MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Oscar Piastri’s win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was “world class” and shows the young Australian has arrived in Formula One, mentor and manager Mark Webber said.
The 23-year-old McLaren driver secured his second race win in the championship at Baku on Sunday by passing Charles Leclerc then holding off the Ferrari driver until a crash on the penultimate lap brought a virtual safety car finish.
“This was one of the best drives I’ve ever seen him pull off,” Webber said at the Baku City Circuit paddock.
“Charles around here (in Baku) is absolutely magical, so to beat him around here was a pretty big deal. It was world class to say the least.
“He’s arrived, he’ll keep his feet on the ground and he’ll keep working hard.”
Piastri’s maiden win at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July was overshadowed by a team orders row when Lando Norris reluctantly gave up the lead to allow his Melbourne-born teammate to cross first.
Team orders were at play in Baku, too, as Norris was asked to help Piastri win by holding up Red Bull’s charging Sergio Perez.
That allowed the Australian to pit for fresh tyres and stay ahead.
Yet, Norris was happy to play his part and nothing could sully Piastri’s win as McLaren took top spot in the constructors championship, 20 points clear of Red Bull with seven grands prix and three sprint races remaining.
Having climbed podiums in Italy and Belgium in the previous three races, Piastri moved to fourth in the drivers’ championship led by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and lies only 32 points adrift of Norris.
Piastri has come a long way since his first season at McLaren when he finished ninth in last year’s championship, more than 100 points shy of Briton Norris.
“He is no longer the next best star coming into F1. The star is here,” former F1 driver and Sky analyst Karun Chandhok said.
“Some people felt he didn’t deserve (the first win). There can be no doubt in anybody’s mind that he deserved that victory today.”
Piastri’s rise has buoyed Australian fans left cold by Daniel Ricciardo’s enduring struggles at RB.
Under pressure to save his race seat, Ricciardo finished 13th after suffering graining problems with his tyres that severely slowed his lap-speed.
The F1 championship continues at the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
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