# 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
The **2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix** was a Formula 1 motor race held on 15 September 2024 at the [Baku City Circuit](https://www.edgepedia.org/baku-city-circuit) in Baku, Azerbaijan, as round 17 of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship. Oscar Piastri of McLaren won the 51-lap race from second on the grid, taking his second Formula 1 victory, while his team moved to the top of the Constructors' Championship for the first time since 2014.[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/races/1245/spain/race-result) • [2](https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula-1/2024/azerbaijan-grand-prix/how-oscar-piastri-won-the-azerbaijan-grand-prix/) • [15](https://www.fia.com/news/f1-piastri-beats-leclerc-win-thrilling-azerbaijan-gp-perez-and-sainz-collide)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Round / date | Round 17 of the 2024 season, 13–15 September 2024, Baku City Circuit[3](https://liquipedia.net/formula1/2024_Azerbaijan_Grand_Prix) |
| Winner | Oscar Piastri, McLaren Mercedes, 51 laps in 1:32:58.007, his second Formula 1 win[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/races/1245/spain/race-result) • [15](https://www.fia.com/news/f1-piastri-beats-leclerc-win-thrilling-azerbaijan-gp-perez-and-sainz-collide) |
| Podium | Leclerc (Ferrari) +10.910s; Russell (Mercedes) +31.328s[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/races/1245/spain/race-result) |
| Pole position | Charles Leclerc, his fourth consecutive pole at Baku[4](https://www.formulaonehistory.com/2024-azerbaijan-grand-prix/) |
| Drive of the race | Lando Norris rose from 15th on the grid to fourth and set the fastest lap[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/races/1245/spain/race-result) • [5](https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula-1/2024/2024-strategy-trends/) |
| Championship effect | McLaren took the Constructors' Championship lead, the first time it had led the table since Australia 2014[2](https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula-1/2024/azerbaijan-grand-prix/how-oscar-piastri-won-the-azerbaijan-grand-prix/) |
| Late drama | Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez made contact and crashed shortly after Turn 2 on lap 50; the race finished under the Virtual Safety Car[6](https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20Azerbaijan%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Decision%20-%20Car%2011%20-%20Alleged%20incident%20with%20Car%2055.pdf) • [7](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/piastri-edges-out-leclerc-for-dramatic-azerbaijan-gp-win-amid-late-race.3ZnRWkx1JNAx8lX8HbS2py) |
## Circuit and event
The race ran over 51 laps of the 6.003 km Baku City Circuit, a race distance of 306.049 km.[8](https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2024/azerbaijan) Baku first hosted a Grand Prix in 2016 as the European Grand Prix, and the [Azerbaijan Grand Prix](https://www.edgepedia.org/azerbaijan-grand-prix) debuted there in 2017.[8](https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2024/azerbaijan) The layout combines a long main straight along the Baku shoreline, where cars can run three abreast into the 90-degree Turn 1, with the narrow, winding streets of the Icheri Sheher old town, so teams must trade downforce for the twisty sections against drag for the straight.[8](https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2024/azerbaijan) That trade-off also shapes overtaking: the long straight gives a [drag reduction system](https://www.edgepedia.org/drag-reduction-system) (DRS) advantage of about 0.35 seconds per lap, which lets a chasing driver keep pace without spending tire life.[9](https://www.grandprix.com/races/azerbaijan-gp-2024-race-analysis.html)
## Qualifying
[Charles Leclerc](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-leclerc) took pole position for Ferrari, his fourth consecutive pole at the Baku City Circuit, beating [Oscar Piastri](https://www.edgepedia.org/oscar-piastri) to the top spot in Saturday's qualifying session.[4](https://www.formulaonehistory.com/2024-azerbaijan-grand-prix/) The margin was about three tenths of a second over Piastri and four tenths over Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari, and it was Sainz's best grid position since the Miami round in May.[10](https://as.com/motor/formula_1/regalo-de-norris-y-pole-implacable-de-leclerc-n/)
## Race
Leclerc led from pole and built a gap of 5.9 seconds over Piastri by lap 14 of 51. Piastri had over-taxed his Medium-compound Pirelli tires trying to challenge the Ferrari for the lead in the opening stint, and had to manage the rubber before attacking again.[2](https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula-1/2024/azerbaijan-grand-prix/how-oscar-piastri-won-the-azerbaijan-grand-prix/) On lap 20 Piastri passed Leclerc for the lead and did not relinquish it.[11](https://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2024/09/15/formule-1-oscar-piastri-remporte-le-gp-d-azerbaidjan-et-relance-le-duel-entre-mclaren-et-red-bull_6319146_3242.html) Leclerc pressed hard in response, coming close to a move on lap 29 and again on lap 33, when Piastri swept across the track out of turn one to keep the Ferrari at bay.[12](https://www.independent.co.uk/f1/f1-azerbaijan-baku-result-piastri-sainz-perez-b2613203.html) Leclerc later said that, from inside his car, the McLaren appeared set to overshoot on the pass, so far back had Piastri come from to make the move stick.[13](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/c5y00xzxjz4o)
**The late crash.** On lap 50, with Sainz defending position from Sergio Perez's Red Bull, the two made contact and crashed shortly after Turn 2, eliminating both cars from what had been a fight over the podium.[6](https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20Azerbaijan%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Decision%20-%20Car%2011%20-%20Alleged%20incident%20with%20Car%2055.pdf) The accident promoted George Russell of Mercedes to third, a position his team had not otherwise contested on pace.[11](https://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2024/09/15/formule-1-oscar-piastri-remporte-le-gp-d-azerbaidjan-et-relance-le-duel-entre-mclaren-et-red-bull_6319146_3242.html) The race ended under the Virtual Safety Car, but Piastri's margin stood at 10.910 seconds over Leclerc, with Russell a further 20 seconds back.[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/races/1245/spain/race-result) • [7](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/piastri-edges-out-leclerc-for-dramatic-azerbaijan-gp-win-amid-late-race.3ZnRWkx1JNAx8lX8HbS2py) Piastri described the afternoon as "the most stressful of my life" after securing a second career win.[7](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/piastri-edges-out-leclerc-for-dramatic-azerbaijan-gp-win-amid-late-race.3ZnRWkx1JNAx8lX8HbS2py)
**Norris's recovery.** From 15th on the grid, Norris drove through to fourth, 36.143 seconds behind his teammate, and took an extra point for the fastest lap.[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/races/1245/spain/race-result) [Max Verstappen](https://www.edgepedia.org/max-verstappen) finished fifth for [Red Bull](https://www.edgepedia.org/red-bull), 77.098 seconds behind the winner, with [Fernando Alonso](https://www.edgepedia.org/fernando-alonso), Alexander Albon, Franco Colapinto, Lewis Hamilton, and Oliver Bearman completing the points scorers.[1](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/races/1245/spain/race-result)
## Championship consequences
The result moved McLaren to the top of the Constructors' Championship. McLaren had been 115 points behind after six rounds and emerged from Baku with a 20-point lead after 17; it was the first time the team had led the championship in a little over a decade, since the first race of 2014.[5](https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula-1/2024/2024-strategy-trends/) • [13](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/c5y00xzxjz4o) For Red Bull, the weekend marked the first time it had not led a championship since after the 2022 [Emilia Romagna Grand Prix](https://www.edgepedia.org/emilia-romagna-grand-prix), two and a half years earlier.[13](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/c5y00xzxjz4o) In the drivers' standings, the race kept Norris in contention with Verstappen while adding a second winner to McLaren's tally alongside his own.[7](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/piastri-edges-out-leclerc-for-dramatic-azerbaijan-gp-win-amid-late-race.3ZnRWkx1JNAx8lX8HbS2py)
The Baku and Singapore rounds together cost Ferrari dearly in the title arithmetic: the team later assessed that it conceded 44 points to McLaren across the Azerbaijan-Singapore pair, with Sainz's crash with Perez on the penultimate lap in Baku, when a second-place finish was possible, a central part of that loss.[14](https://as.com/motor/formula_1/donde-perdio-ferrari-el-mundial-n/)
## References
1. [Formula 1 Qatar Airways Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2024 – Race Result, Formula1.com](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2024/races/1245/spain/race-result)
2. [How Oscar Piastri won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, McLaren Racing](https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula-1/2024/azerbaijan-grand-prix/how-oscar-piastri-won-the-azerbaijan-grand-prix/)
3. [2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Liquipedia Formula 1](https://liquipedia.net/formula1/2024_Azerbaijan_Grand_Prix)
4. [2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights, F1 History](https://www.formulaonehistory.com/2024-azerbaijan-grand-prix/)
5. [2024 strategy trends: Less overtaking, fewer pit stops, McLaren Racing](https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula-1/2024/2024-strategy-trends/)
6. [FIA Decision Document: Car 11, Alleged incident with Car 55, 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix](https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20Azerbaijan%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Decision%20-%20Car%2011%20-%20Alleged%20incident%20with%20Car%2055.pdf)
7. [Piastri edges out Leclerc for dramatic Azerbaijan GP win amid late-race chaos, Formula1.com](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/piastri-edges-out-leclerc-for-dramatic-azerbaijan-gp-win-amid-late-race.3ZnRWkx1JNAx8lX8HbS2py)
8. [Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2024 – F1 Race, Formula1.com](https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2024/azerbaijan)
9. [Race Analysis – Piastri's risk brings impressive win, Grandprix.com](https://www.grandprix.com/races/azerbaijan-gp-2024-race-analysis.html)
10. [Regalo de Norris y pole implacable de Leclerc, AS](https://as.com/motor/formula_1/regalo-de-norris-y-pole-implacable-de-leclerc-n/)
11. [Formule 1 : Oscar Piastri remporte le Grand Prix d'Azerbaïdjan, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2024/09/15/formule-1-oscar-piastri-remporte-le-gp-d-azerbaidjan-et-relance-le-duel-entre-mclaren-et-red-bull_6319146_3242.html)
12. [Oscar Piastri wins action-packed F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Sainz and Perez crash late on, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/f1/f1-azerbaijan-baku-result-piastri-sainz-perez-b2613203.html)
13. [Azerbaijan GP 2024: 'McLaren's constructors' lead over Red Bull seismic', BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/c5y00xzxjz4o)
14. [Dónde perdió Ferrari el Mundial, AS](https://as.com/motor/formula_1/donde-perdio-ferrari-el-mundial-n/)
15. [F1 - Piastri beats Leclerc to win thrilling Azerbaijan GP as Pérez and Sainz collide](https://www.fia.com/news/f1-piastri-beats-leclerc-win-thrilling-azerbaijan-gp-perez-and-sainz-collide)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Cycling and motor sport › Formula One and Grand Prix motor racing › Formula One Grands Prix by nation and event › One-off and short-lived F1 Grands Prix*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license