Formula One delivered a gripping contest at the front of the field in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix but in the wake of Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc’s compelling battle, two of the sport’s newest competitors made an impression that should not be overlooked, one that indicates F1’s future is in rude health.
In what was a riveting race, Piastri won from Leclerc in Baku and Lando Norris managed to keep his F1 title hopes alive with a strong comeback drive to pass Max Verstappen and take fourth from 15th on the grid. He and Piastri put McLaren into the lead of the constructors’ championship for the first time in a decade, while a dramatic crash between Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz brought the curtain down on a spirited afternoon.
They were not, however, the only drivers who brought the meeting in Baku to life. Argentina’s Franco Colapinto and Britain’s Oliver Bearman were competing in only their second grand prix. Both endured crashes in the build up over the weekend, but showed composure and skill to move on and deliver superb drives on Sunday. They did not make the headlines but they caught the eye.
Colapinto finished in eighth for Williams and Bearman in 10th for Haas, impressive performances on an enormously testing circuit on the streets of Baku.
Colapinto’s run was perhaps the more noteworthy, given the circumstances. The 21-year-old was drafted into Williams at short notice just after the Dutch Grand Prix several weeks ago when the team summarily dismissed the underperforming Logan Sargeant and he made his debut at the last round in Monza, taking 12th place.
Sargeant had been dropped largely because he was repeatedly crashing the car – damage Williams can ill-afford, given they are in a process of rebuilding. There would then have been a sense of deja-vu and concern when Colapinto binned it at turn 14 in the first practice session in Baku. He was brought in specifically as a driver who would not make what he later described as a “rookie mistake”.
Yet he regrouped and came back. He qualified superbly in ninth and then kept his head down in a complex, testing race, where he had dropped out of the top 10 to work back up and claim 10th on track on merit, which became eighth after the late Pérez-Sainz crash.
Williams put their faith in him to keep the car intact and score points. When it mattered he delivered on both fronts and became the first Argentine to finish in the top 10 since Carlos Reutemann in 1982.
With his teammate Alex Albon in seventh, Williams had their first double points finish since the US GP in 2023, enough to leapfrog Alpine to eighth in the constructors’ championship. Colapinto called it a dream come true, and doubtless Williams feel similarly.
Bearman was equally impressive. The 19-year-old had already made his mark standing in for Sainz in the Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian GP earlier this year. However this was his first outing for Haas, the team he will join full time next season. He was standing in for Kevin Magnussen who was serving a one-race ban, in a car a long way from the Ferrari of his first race.
He too had to overcome a crash after he overcooked it into turn one in final practice and hit the barriers, curtailing his running, notably on the soft tyres and potentially his qualifying position where he narrowly missed out on Q3.
By Sunday it was behind him with a demonstration of a racing brain and maturity way beyond his years. The team had him move over early in the race for his quicker teammate Nico Hülkenberg but only because Bearman was unaware he was not pushing his rear tyres hard enough, concerned through his lack of experience with the F1 rubber as to its rate of degradation.
When informed he could do so, he only improved. He matched Hülkenberg’s times and led Lewis Hamilton for 23 laps until the final 10 circuits, when the seven-time champion made a move stick on him. He maintained his place and passed his teammate who was concerned he had picked up damage from the late race crash and was slow to react to the subsequent green flag. It was enough for 12th place and 10th at the flag after Pérez and Sainz went out.
Bearman has become the only driver to score points in their first two races in two different cars, a pleasingly obscure achievement. But most importantly he demonstrated once more how quickly he was able to adapt, come up to speed and even learn as the race progressed. As a Ferrari academy driver his goal is to race for the Scuderia but what was clear in Baku is that for next season Haas have an enormous asset.
Colapinto’s future is less certain. He will not be with Williams as the team have confirmed Albon and Sainz as their drivers for next year. Yet the young Argentine has seven more races to make a case to the paddock and there is still a seat open at Sauber for 2025. More performances on this level and his late season cameo might turn into a full time gig.
