F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Piastri wins amid drama as Sainz crashes into Pérez – live | Formula One

Lap 51/51 It took a little while, but then the virtual safety car was deployed, and Piastri continued to lead the pack during that time. He's no longer an up-and-comer, he's right here.

Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez crash and are out of the race!

Lap 49/51 Norris is now within a second of Verstappen, with Piastri struggling at the top. Instead, Leclerc is trying to hold on to second, with Pérez challenging him and trying to hold on to third under pressure from Sainz. Oh, look! Nozza attacks Verstappen, slides past him and sets another surging fastest lap. Having started 15th on the grid, he will close the gap to the leaders, and given how things unfolded yesterday, he will be pleased.

Lap 48/51 Perez attacks Leclerc, trying to outflank him from the outside but can't. But up ahead, Piastri is leading by 2.480 seconds. He's going to win!

Lap 47/51 An early puncture forced Stroll to retire, while Piastri put in a great lap to beat Leclerc's DSRS and Perez caught him – the gap was now 1.759s, and this could be the deciding circuit of the race.

Lap 46/51 Sainz is now 1.199s behind Perez and there is a battle going on for 3rd and 4th as well as 1st and 2nd. All 4 could be fighting for the win! This is the most entertaining race I have ever seen. Piastri is leading by 0.929s and Parás is closer to Leclerc than Leclerc is to Sainz.

Lap 45/51 Piastri held off Leclerc again, which will surely be a sure sign of victory, while Norris is expected to catch Verstappen with four laps to go. Will he be able to overtake, having set the fastest lap and trailing by 5.095, or will Verstappen's machinations hold him off?

Lap 44/51 It must have taken incredible concentration for Piastri to maintain such a small lead for so long – just 0.578 seconds.

1. Piastri

2. Leclerc

3. Perez

4. Sainz

5. Russell

6. Max Verstappen

7. Norris

8. Alonso

9. Albon

10. Hulkenberg

11. Colapinto

12. Hamilton

13. Bearman

14. Guthrie

15. Ricardo

16. Ocon

17. stroll

18. Bottas

19. Zhou

Lap 43/51 Sainz is also closing in on Perez, but it's not hurting his team-mate Leclerc, giving the Mexican driver more to think about than just catching up. With nine laps to go, the race remains in the balance.

Lap 42/51 Norris will be on top of Verstappen within eight laps, giving him four chances to overtake and close the gap in the Drivers' Championship, as will Leclerc, who is similarly 0.819s behind Piastri, with Perez again close behind.

Lap 41/51 It's unclear what will change for Leclerc between now and the chequered flag, but it's unlikely to give Hamilton any chance after he comfortably passed Bearman to tie for second. 10 laps to go.

Lap 40/51 Norris set the fastest lap to close the gap to Verstappen to 12.308s as Leclerc's team discussed a two-stop strategy, perhaps trying to scare McLaren into pitting Piastri, but this time Scharr closed in on him coming onto the straight and gained a position, only for the Australian to hold him off again.

Lap 39/51 It's been a while since Leclerc has been properly close to Piastri and Piastri will be feeling the pressure to take the lead – he is now expected and hoping to win this race – by 0.774s.

Lap 38/51 Sainz in fourth place was closing in on Pérez in third, but the Mexican driver was unlikely to threaten second place from here on out. Norris pitted and got out ahead of Alonso to move up to seventh, 15.454s behind Verstappen.

Lap 37/51 Piastri set the fastest lap and a dummy call was made that he should pit if Leclerc did, but McLaren did nothing and their driver was 0.725 seconds ahead.

Lap 36/51 It happened again, with Leclerc never getting close enough to overtake Piastri, proving that no driver has scored more points in the last four races than the fast-rising Australian, which seems like a fitting name for a pub.

Lap 35/51 Piastri was advised that his tyres were slightly worse at the front and slightly better at the rear than Leclerc's, and although I can't remember the last time we saw a race like this with two drivers lapping each other, we know that Albon, currently in 11th place, is gunning for eighth, with Verstappen aiming for seventh if he rejoins the pack.

1. Piastri

2. Leclerc

3. Perez

4. Sainz

5. Norris

6. Russell

7. Max Verstappen

8. Alonso

Lap 34/51 Verstappen tells his team they have no grip. This terse message is becoming something of a feature. He is 1.595s behind Norris, who still has to pit, while Perez in third is closing in on Leclerc in fourth. And look! Russell has passed Verstappen, and Norris looks set to finish behind Verstappen, but the overall delay doesn't seem to change much.

Lap 33/51 Here again Leclerc comes and almost gets behind Piastri, but Piastri chooses a good line to prevent him from overtaking. What a duel! And it's far from over!

Lap 32/51 With Albon having pitted, Norris is now fifth and Verstappen sixth, and they will be looking to hit the ground running now to take advantage of the clearer track conditions ahead.

Lap 31/51 Norris won't want to pit now because that would put him in 11th place behind Hulkenberg and his Haas' straight-line speed might become an issue. Piastri is still in the lead and has DRS, but Leclerc can't get close enough to overtake.

Lap 30/51 Yes, Perez is now 1.361 points behind Leclerc, who is 0.612 points behind Piastri. This is going to be an incredible race, one that will probably be looked back on in years to come as a turning point in the leaders' careers.

Lap 29/51 Leclerc is coming again, much closer this time… and Piastri is holding him back! The young Australian is doing great here, but he'll have to endure more as the race continues. The leaders have Perez some distance ahead.

1. Piastri

2. Leclerc

3. Perez

4. Sainz

5. Albon

6. Norris

7. Max Verstappen

8. Russell

Lap 28/51 Again, Leclerc couldn't get close enough to overtake Piastri, he was so close, the lead was 0.496.

Lap 27/51 Albon is doing a good job of holding off Norris and Verstappen – and let's not forget Norris hasn't even pitted yet – so a safety car situation should work well for McLaren now.

Lap 26/51 Piastri has just one win in his young career, at the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier this year, and he currently leads by 0.560s, but the Australian driver tried too hard in the early stages and failed to impress Leclerc, but is now driving the car according to plan, which is proving to be an improved performance.

Lap 25/51 Leclerc was close enough to use DRS but not close enough to attack, allowing Piastri to set the fastest lap, while Verstappen was growing frustrated at not being able to pass Norris.

1. Piastri

2. Leclerc

3. Perez

4. Sainz

5. Albon

6. Norris

7. Max Verstappen

Lap 24/51 Verstappen is right behind Norris (remember, Norris hasn't pitted yet) but he's closing the door! At the front Piastri is doing a great job and has extended his lead over Leclerc to -0.946s, but Leclerc will be feeling this lead slipping away.

Lap 23/51 Leclerc closed in on Piastri from the inside but was too late, and the gap between the two is now 0.799 seconds, with Perez a further 0.946 seconds behind.

Lap 22/51 The first three cars are pretty much bumper-to-bumper, which is great, but what's even better is that Verstappen and Norris aren't even involved.

Lap 21/51 Leclerc attacks again, but Piastri is here for one. He sees it and resists. The top three are separated by just 1.5 seconds, which is just incredible! Norris is in fifth place.

Lap 20/51 Well! Piastri attacks from the inside and Leclerc can't stop him! Great move, he came all the way from behind! But! Here comes the second DRS zone and Leclerc attacks… and goes off the road, forcing him to reset in the corner! Great job from the Australian, even if Charle should have expected the challenge coming. He will come again, but he must be careful of Perez behind.

Lap 19/51 Perez attacks Albon on the straight, who can be overtaken from either side and knows the overtake is coming because the track is wide, while Piastri is doing well and is back in the lead, just 0.929s behind Leclerc.

Lap 18/51 With Sainz pitting, Leclerc was back in the lead, with Perez setting a new fastest lap, and Piastri, who had dropped to second, will be grateful to have Albon behind him, slowing the Red Bull to second place.

1. Leclerc

2. Piastri

3. Albon

4. Perez

5. Norris

6. Sainz

7. Max Verstappen

8. Russell

Lap 17/51 Now that Leclerc has pitted, Sainz is in the lead, but will regain the lead once Ferrari pits, and that's when he'll overtake.

Lap 16/51 Piastri pits and Pérez, on fresh tyres, passes Norris… but Piastri gets ahead of the Mexican thanks to his teammate, who holds on just long enough. Tsunoda, whose car was shaken by the earlier collision, retires.

Lap 15/51 Piastri has gotten far enough ahead of Perez that he can pit and start at the front, but staying in the pits for another lap looks like a poor decision. The gap is closing and Norris now has to hold off Checo without damaging his own prospects.

Lap 14/51 Leclerc was 5.173s ahead when Perez came in and out of the pits in sixth place, while Norris was now fifth but would of course have to pit soon.

1. Leclerc

2. Piastri

3. Sainz

4. Albon

5. Norris

6. Perez

7. Hulkenberg

8. Bearman

9. Max Verstappen

10. Ricardo

Lap 13/51 Verstappen, who had just been hanging on, seemed to tire of his tyres and pitted in 10th place, slower than he would have liked, with Russell soon following and Hamilton also pitting.