Webber calls Piastri’s Baku win ‘the best drive I’ve seen him pull off’ as he hails ‘world class’ effort

Oscar Piastri’s manager, and fellow Australian racer, Mark Webber was full of praise for his young charge in the wake of the McLaren driver's stunning win in Baku, calling it an ‘extraordinary’ victory.

Webber is no stranger to fantastic drives, having pulled off a fair few in a career that yielded nine F1 victories and one serious tilt at the title back in 2010 for Red Bull.

READ MORE: Piastri relieved after ‘hanging on for dear life’ to beat Leclerc and claim Baku victory

But as the dust settled on Piastri’s defensive masterclass in Azerbaijan, where he held off a charging Charles Leclerc for lap after lap, Webber had nothing but praise for the Aussie.

“The whole year he’s been very consistent, very quick in all conditions and I think, yeah that was one of the best drives I’ve ever seen him pull off,” Webber told Sky Sports F1.

“Under a lot of pressure, very defensive decisive in the move itself and up against a world class driver – Charles [Leclerc] around here is absolutely magical so to beat him around here is a pretty big deal.”

Piastri won from second on the grid in Baku, as he did back in Hungary, but this time around there were no team orders to take the gloss off his victory. Instead, he made a late lunge on Leclerc after the first round of pit stops, catching the Ferrari man by surprise and barging his way through.

MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: How Piastri’s ultimate gamble saw him take and keep the lead in Baku while under immense pressure

From there, he had to deliver 31 perfect laps to ensure Leclerc didn’t get an opportunity to come back through, under huge pressure given the Monegasque driver had DRS for the vast majority of that time.

All the talk in the build up to the race was team orders and whether Piastri would yield and let Lando Norris pass – but instead of letting that distract him, the 23-year-old Australian put in a brilliant performance to grab the win, and help McLaren leapfrog Red Bull to take the lead in the constructors’.

“Both victories have been very special to him,” continued Webber. “But to do as he did today, you know, learning, sitting behind Charles in the first stint, actually ran out of a bit of range at the end of the first stint. And then they sent him a bit longer than they’d have liked, left him a bit exposed to Sergio [Perez].

“[He] just did Sergio and then he knuckled down to get the job done. To pull off a Grand Prix like that around a place like this, disciplined, getting the move done, and then leading from the front was pretty world class to say the least.

HIGHLIGHTS: Relive the action from Baku as Piastri takes exhilarating victory in dramatic fight for the win

“People forget… he didn’t have the upgrade in Miami and then since Miami he’s been one of the biggest points scorer if not the biggest point scorer. People are very quick to look at it, oh it’s not quite – it’s a perception thing, he’s done an extraordinary job, as has Lando [Norris] and the whole team at McLaren.”

Piastri might have claimed on the radio after crossing the line that it was a stressful race, but you couldn’t tell from his calm demeanour.

And Webber was quick to note that his protégé will “keep his feet on the ground and keep working hard,” with seven races still to go until the flag falls on the 2024 season.

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