Oscar Piastri (McLaren) on Baku: “It’s a love-hate relationship”

Oscar Piastri still seems to be finding his feet a little this Formula 1 season. And now, of all times, the series heads to Baku – a circuit where a weekend can be full of light, only to suddenly turn to shadow. Oscar Piastri knows both sides of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix: that of a surprise triumph and that of crashing into the wall.

Piastri: Best and worst races in Baku

Piastri ahead of the Azerbaijan weekend: “In a way, it’s a love-hate relationship with this circuit. I’ve had both my best and my worst races ever here.” In 2024, he won the race. And in 2025, he crashed – which also marked the start of his downward spiral, having been on course for the world title in the first half of the season.

Hoping for a repeat of 2024

Piastri on the Baku City Circuit: “There’s always plenty going on here. It’s all about confidence; you have to push right to the limit. It’s an unusual combination to have a street circuit with such massive braking zones. It’s exciting. Hopefully this year will be more like 2024.” That is, the year he won.

Is Oscar Piastri getting on better with his car now? The Aussie says: “A little, yes. Progress isn’t linear. You always find a few things that work and some that don’t. We’re still in that phase. In the last race, the car was quick at the end, but it was difficult to get the lap time out of it.” His team-mate Lando Norris did, after all, start from pole position and would probably have won the race too had it not been for the Virtual Safety Car – which was unfortunate for him – following Stroll’s retirement. Piastri finished eighth (though he also had damage to his car).

“We’re definitely not standing still”

Piastri’s team principal, Andrea Stella, had speculated that Piastri thinks too much whilst driving. So what does the Australian need? Piastri: “Things need to be a bit different. We’ve realised this over the course of a few races this year. The cars this year are very different from what we had before. And a lot of things that worked for me in the past don’t work anymore. So it’s about finding different solutions. We’re making progress and trying things out. Some work, some don’t. But we’re definitely not standing still. And there isn’t one simple solution.”

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Piastri is receiving strong support from his team in this regard. Perhaps the MCL40 and Piastri will become friends after all. Piastri: “With the limited time we have, you need to have a good plan for what you’re going to do, rather than just trying things out at random. The team’s response has been very good when it comes to improving things as quickly as possible.”