Devastated Oscar Piastri explains why he crashed out before Australian Grand Prix started
· Yahoo Sports
A devastated Oscar Piastri has explained his shock at crashing out of his home Australian Grand Prix before it even started in a horrific start to his 2026 Formula 1 campaign.
The dramatic season opener, with fresh regulations proving, saw teams and drivers struggle to master their cars at this early stage.
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Piastri, born and raised in Melbourne, suffered premature heartbreak after he lost control of his McLaren car at turn four as he drove to the starting grid, with Lando Norris raising alarm bells over the car’s potential to compound a dreadful weekend for the reigning champions.
“We had a bit of an issue out of the pits,” Piastri said after the race, which was won by George Russell, with his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli second and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc third. “With no battery, basically, then the crash, it was a combination of a couple of things.
“A large element of just me, cold tires, the exit curb, I also had 100 kilowatts more power than I expected, you put that together and it ends in the result we got.
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia's car is taken from the track track after he crashed (AP)“It’s disappointing and shouldn’t be happening.
“I got 100 kilowatts more power than if I had been at full throttle.”
Piastri’s car spun into the wall, smashing the front of his car, and ruling him out of the first race of the 2026 F1 season, with teammate Norris then tasked with the pressure of navigating the race to deliver consolation points for the papaya after winning the last two constructors championships.
Norris, in an internal radio message, was told that Piastri downshifted on a kerb and immediately lost control of his car.
It continued a terrible trend for Australian drivers at their home race, with not one home driver ever finishing in the top three.
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia's car sits on the track after he crashed during the formation lap (AP)Piastri’s abrupt end to the race left the P5 grid spot vacant for the first race, with Lewis Hamilton behind enjoying the advantage of space to attack, eventually helping the Briton into fourth, while holding the lead briefly.
Piastri will have to rebound quickly, with the Chinese Grand Prix next week, including a Sprint Race, with CEO Zak Brown noting that the data could not explain Piastri’s mishap.
“I spoke to him [Piastri], disappointing, but we have another race coming up,” Brown said. “We didn’t see anything on the data, but a spike in the torque and the tires weren’t fully up to speed.”