In frustration, Piastri convinced the team that their only chance was to stop first and give themselves more time to chase Red Bull.
Piastri came on lap 42 with 15 laps to go, and put on harder tyres, but although he was able to reduce Verstappen’s lead to eight seconds by the end, there was no pressure on the four-time champion.
“No words,” Piastri said over the radio at the end of the race.
He said in his post-race interview: “Obviously we didn’t get it right tonight. I ran as fast as I could, but there was nothing left. I tried my best but couldn’t do it.
“Ultimately, it is quite clear what we should have done but we will discuss it as a team. It is a bit difficult to understand at the moment.”
Verstappen said: “It was an incredible race for us. We made the right call as a team to box in. It was smart. And extremely happy to win here and stay in the fight, incredible.
“It was a bit of an offset because of all this but for us it was a very strong race over the weekend when it was a bit tough but we still got it done.”
He described McLaren’s strategy as “an interesting move”, adding: “But you still have to keep the tires alive.”
Norris, who could have won the title had he won the race, said: “Going into the weekend I had no expectations. I try to do my best. Today it wasn’t good enough, but that’s life.”
“We made a bad decision, it became clear as soon as it happened. What we did was more of a gamble than what they did.”
Piastri should have taken a comfortable victory, but Norris had to struggle more, even though there was a second on offer had McLaren played the right strategy.
He had a big moment at the high speed Turn 14 on lap 35, just avoiding a crash, at a time when the McLaren drivers were trying to create as big a gap as possible before their final stop.
Instead, fearing that he had damaged his finish, Norris kept Verstappen behind him until the final lap.
Norris came fifth behind Sainz and Antonelli and struggled to overtake the Italian for long periods.
By then, with just over a lap left, Antonelli ran away, and Norris was able to move ahead.
He closed in on Sainz, and crossed the line 0.6 seconds behind the Spaniard, for whom a second podium in Baku was an extraordinary achievement.
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