Photo: Race Pictures

Piastri called out for 'massive misjudgement' in Baku crash

14:33, 24 Sep

byNorberto Mujica

F1TV analyst and former F1 driver, Jolyon Palmer, hits Piastri with "massive misjudgement" verdict following the McLaren driver's lap 1 crash at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri's Turn 5 crash in Baku. Photo: Azerbaijan Grand Prix feed.

For Piastri, it's a massive misjudgement here. Trying to make amends. And it's easy to do that when you're on the back foot.

- Jolyon Palmer

Having crashed during Q3, Piastri had a lot of work to do on Sunday. The task became a tough ask following his botched start, which saw him drop even further down the field and the stewards hand him a 5-second time penalty.

"This is going to be the end of a miserable weekend for ice cold Oscar," Palmer began his analysis. "He's trying to make places up and he's actually made a couple already on the first lap.

"He's in a McLaren, he's on new medium tyres. This is the best tyre for the start of the race and he's just thinking, I need to make amends at this."

With Esteban Ocon dead ahead, Piastri's hunger bit him hard at Turn 5, Palmer observes.

"We've got Esteban Ocon just ahead of him. But as we come through, he's just pretty ambitious on the brakes. We've got Nico Hülkenberg ahead, also trying to go around the outside.

"But this is a part of the track [where] he's coming in pretty wide. You can see the natural line here is a little bit more to the inside line. Out of Turn 4, you don't sweep too far out to take that entry kerb there. And it's quite dusty. You can see that on the outside here, where drivers just haven't really been.

"So Oscar here, full tank of fuel. Medium tyres, probably not up to temperature in a cooler Baku. And he's just ambitious. He's trying to make up for his already fluffed start. And in we go then to this corner. Locks up. And once he locks up here, he's just not going to save that again."

Palmer then reaches his verdict: "For Piastri, it's a massive misjudgement here. Trying to make amends. And it's easy to do that when you're on the back foot and you compound one issue with another error."

Verstappen edges closer in the title fight

Whereas Piastri registered a DNF in Baku, Max Verstappen went on to win the race in dominant fashion, prompting McLaren boss Andrea Stella to declare the Dutchman was back in the Drivers' title fight. The Aussie driver's teammate Lando Norris was also of the same opinion as the Italian team principal.

As the F1 paddock eyes Singapore as the next stop on the calendar, Red Bull refrains from issuing any sort of late title charge claims.

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