Oscar Piastri crashes on the lap to the grid, out of the Australian GP

Photo: Race Pictures

Updated: 04:57, 08 Mar

Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.

Oscar Piastri will not start his home race after crashing on the lap to the grid, the McLaren driver spun out

The McLaren driver is confirmed to be okay, with the car snapping after touching the kerb on Turn 4, having heavily damaged the right hand side of his MCL40.

Zak Brown has said McLaren have not seen the data, and haven't spoken to Piastri yet as he returns to the grid.

Piastri had qualified P5 on the grid, next to his teammate Lando Norris in P6.

Max Verstappen, a harsh critic of the 2026 cars, told Sky Sports he thinks the torque kicked in for Piastri "when he least expected it".

A record crowd was in attendance to see the Melbourne native Piastri, but it was silenced as the McLaren star slid off at Turn 4.

Here is the crash suffered by the Aussie:

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Oscar Piastri has crashed and is OUT of the Australian Grand Prix before it begins 😮 #F1 #AusGP

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3:31 AM · Mar 8, 2026

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F1-stand 2026

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	131
2	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	88
3	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	75
4	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	72
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	58
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	48
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	43
8	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	20
9	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	16
11	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	15
12	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	14
13	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
14	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	5
15	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	1
17	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	1
18	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
19	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
20	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
21	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	0

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Oscar Piastri crashes on the lap to the grid, out of the Australian GP

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