Norris fails to capitalise on Piastri crash in Azerbaijan

Verstappen wins after championship leader's early exit

- SCOTT HUNT

Oscar Piastri's F1 title charge survived a first-lap crash at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix without major damage as rival Lando Norris could finish only seventh.

A second crash of the weekend for Piastri ended his 34-race streak of finishing a Grand Prix within five corners and threw the door wide open for McLaren teammate Norris to make major inroads into his championship lead.

But Norris started sluggishly and overtaking was at a premium during the 51 laps on Baku's windy streets, meaning he could only take six points out of Piastri's title lead, which stands at 25 with seven rounds remaining.

Pole-sitter Max Verstappen breezed to a commanding lights-to-flag victory, blasting away from the line and winning by 14 seconds to claim successive victories and close within 69 points of Piastri.

George Russell clinched an impressive second for Mercedes from fifth on the grid and Carlos Sainz delivered Williams' first podium since 2021.