Marc Priestley loved Oscar Piastri tactic in Baku that Charles Leclerc couldn’t deal with

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The Azerbaijan Grand Prix produced one of the most incredible battles for a race victory that Formula 1 has seen for some time.

Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri started alongside each other on the front row of the grid in Baku, but the race only sparked into life after each of the leading drivers pitted for hard tyres.

The Monegasque lost the lead of the race after a fantastic move by Piastri going into the first corner as he took full advantage of the incredibly long DRS zone.

Piastri’s move shaped the race and with each passing lap, Leclerc got closer and closer to the Australian driver without being able to re-take the lead.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

The question was which driver’s tyres were going to go off first as they push to the limit lap after lap.

In the end, Leclerc was the man who lost his rear tyres first and that brought Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz into play.

That ended in disaster with Sainz and Perez colliding which guaranteed that Leclerc would finish the race behind Piastri.

Commentating on the race for BBC Sport, Marc Priestley has shared what in particular he loved about Piastri’s tactics in his battle against Leclerc.

While Piastri did brilliantly to overtake Leclerc, he made sure he wasn’t subject to the 26-year-old trying a similar strategy later in the race.

Oscar Piastri used key tactic to fend off Charles Leclerc to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Piastri came from deep to dive down the inside of Leclerc but couldn’t open up a big enough gap for most of the race to escape the DRS zone.

It meant that the Monegasque driver was approaching Piastri lap after lap and he had to use all of his skills to avoid losing the lead of the race.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Talking about his defensive manoeuvres, Priestley said: “What Piastri is doing very well is that he’s going to the inside towards the end of that start-finish straight.

“There was a gap and we wonder if Leclerc needs to go more to the inside and squeezing it down the inside into Turn One.

“It comprises the corner but if he can get it under control and maintain track position, that could be his opportunity.”

Oscar Piastri wins the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after brilliant Charles Leclerc battle

The battle in the Drivers’ Championship is still on with Lando Norris managing to finish ahead of Max Verstappen despite starting 15^th after his early elimination from Saturday’s qualifying session.

It highlights how far Red Bull have fallen over the course of the season but Piastri and Leclerc have both kept themselves within touching distance of Norris in the standings.

Piastri is the best-performing driver on the grid over recent races and only a slow start to the season has ended his chances of being involved in the championship fight going into the final seven race weekends.

If Norris needs Piastri to move over then he has said he will but that was never in the conversation today given they were fighting different battles.

The next race in Singapore should suit McLaren and give them a chance to extend their lead in the Constructors’ Championship while also putting further pressure on Red Bull and Verstappen.