Engrossing and impossibly tense, Formula One might consider itself flattered if the final third of this season delivers with the same compelling drama as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. An old-school race of nose‑to‑tail duelling at the front, won by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri from ­Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, the streets of Baku hosted an immense struggle.

Moreover it was a race that might be considered by McLaren as a ­pivotal moment when, against the odds and beyond all expectations, Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris also managed to keep his title hopes alive with an exceptional comeback drive from 15th to fourth.

Piastri’s win, the 23-year-old Australian’s ­second in only his second season in F1, was enthralling from the moment he took the lead from Leclerc on lap 20 and then defended it for 30 laps as the Monegasque driver ducked, dived and hurled himself at Piastri’s gearbox at every ­opportunity.

Related: F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Piastri wins amid drama as Sainz crashes into Pérez – live

For almost the entire fight they were separated by just half a second, a contest decided not by DRS but by the men behind the wheel. Piastri was the deserved winner after the ­dramatic denouement of a high-speed crash between Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Vying for third on the penultimate lap, both cars crunched heavily into the wall but the drivers were unhurt.

Piastri considered it the race of his life. “That ranks as proba­bly the best win of my career,” he said. “Trying to soak up that pressure for so long, that was incredibly tough. I saw an opportunity or half an opportunity after the pit stop and knew I had to try and take it. I knew that getting to the lead was going to be one thing, but I knew I had my work cut out for me after that.”

That Piastri was in position to take the lead was owed in part at least to his teammate Norris. The irony of Norris assisting Piastri after a week in which McLaren had been dis­cussing team orders in Norris’s favour was impossible to ignore yet Norris’s ­performance was the accompanying solo piece that made the race special.

Norris had started from 15th after being caught out by a yellow flag in qualifying, his race expected to be a case of damage limitation. Yet he showed composure and control in his execution to come through the field, take fourth and beat his title rival Max ­Verstappen into fifth. After ­taking new tyres Norris had a 15 second deficit to the Dutchman and 13 laps to close it – he did so with inexorable precision and two to spare when he went past the world champion.

An expected swing toward ­Verstappen had turned into a three‑point gain for Norris, cutting the lead to 59 points with seven races ­remaining, the title still just within touching distance.

In the process he had also played the team game, holding up Pérez after his pitstop to ensure Piastri maintained second place after he had pitted. This was no small beer in that it ensured the Australian had the chance to make the move on which the race turned, plunging up the inside of turn one to take the lead from Leclerc.

It was a bold, decisive move, so much so Leclerc admitted he had not expected it and thus had not moved to defend. Piastri had put it all on the line, fighting to scrub the speed off his car as he managed to wrangle it into the ­corner, a hair’s-breadth from the barriers. Were evidence needed, here was the ruthless eye and touch of a champion, subsequently backed by an iron nerve to execute flawlessly in defence against a ­charging Leclerc. Piastri was the complete package in Baku.

For McLaren, the win and Norris’s comeback was a moment to savour too. They have now overtaken Red Bull in the constructors’ championship by 20 points, the first time they have led the title race for a decade. The scale of that achievement, given how low they had sunk in the 2010s, is a remarkable testament to the turnaround the team has wrought.

The team principal, Andrea Stella, had to take a breath to put his thoughts on the race in order. “What brilliance in Oscar’s drive and what team work,” he said after ­consideration.

“Lando did a bit of the job in helping Oscar today, then what a recovery from 15th. Just such a strong team, such strong drivers. I’m very proud of them.”

The significance of these strengths will not be lost on Red Bull, who remain flailing. Verstappen’s woes, a litany of complaints about the ­handling, balance and grip of his car to his team were all too familiar and while he may enjoy a cushion in the title fight his team do not.

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They will of course under­standably rue the late crash between Pérez and Sainz as the pair fought at the death. Sainz had slipped past the Mexican and he and Pérez hit one another on the back straight, promoting Mercedes’ George Russell to third place.

Investigated afterwards, the ­stewards declared it a racing incident but the careening explosion of carbon fibre was enough to ensure the race ended under the virtual safety car, a finale that did nothing to diminish what had been a captivating contest.

Fernando Alonso was sixth for Aston Martin, Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto a superb seventh and eighth for Williams, Lewis Hamilton was in ninth for Mercedes having started at the back of the grid with an engine penalty. with Oliver Bearman 10th for Haas in only his second grand prix.