MAGAZINE: PIASTRI SHOWS HIS CLASS IN BAKU

A fantastic Azerbaijan Grand Prix and superb victory for Oscar Piastri leads this week’s Autosport magazine, out today (19 September).

If anyone had still been in any doubt that Piastri is the real deal, they must surely have revised their view following last weekend’s race. As Jake Boxall-Legge shows in our report, the Australian defied a team instruction in Baku and then held off a circuit master to take one of the finest Formula 1 victories we’ve seen in recent seasons.

McLaren has now taken the lead in the constructors’ championship and must be regarded as the favourite. But Lando Norris’s misfortune in qualifying, notwithstanding a fine race performance, means that Max Verstappen’s drivers’ table points lead is looking pretty secure.

That raises the strong chance that the two F1 titles will go to different teams this year, so we take a look at the 11 times that has happened in the series’ history.

Alex Kalinauckas also spent time with Haas to see how Ollie Bearman got on in his first GP with the squad.

Elsewhere, Porsche took a big step towards ending Toyota’s run of titles in the World Endurance Championship at Fuji last weekend. Gary Watkins was there to see Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Andre Lotterer take their second victory of the year – and the inaugural LMGT3 crown being clinched a round early.

The big news was also in WEC, with Hyundai confirming its assault for 2026, which leads our Pit + Paddock section, while our international reports include Alex Palou clinching his third IndyCar crown at Nashville.

A bumper Porsche entry for Silverstone, competitor reaction to Ginetta’s 2025 plans and race coverage from Brands Hatch, Donington Park and Mondello Park help pack our National section. The 16 pages of UK club coverage also include an update on the Ryan Motorsport Insurance Autosport National Rankings as the season heads into its final stages.

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2024-09-19T08:16:16Z dg43tfdfdgfd