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Piastri concedes heartbreak after disappointing Australian GP crash

Photo: Race Pictures

F1 News

08:20, 08 Mar

Updated: 09:16, 08 Mar

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bySamson Ero

Oscar Piastri has shared his thoughts following his devastating Australian Grand Prix outing.

“When you add in another factor like that, it becomes even more painful…”

- Oscar Piastri

The McLaren driver saw his home race end almost as soon as it began. Piastri clipped the kerbs at Turn 4, sending the front of his MCL40 crashing into the wall and becoming the first casualty of the session. Speaking to GPblog about the incident, Piastri didn’t hide his frustration.

“Obviously disappointed, scenarios like that just shouldn’t happen. It’s very disappointing indeed.”

Oscar Piastri - Photo: Race Pictures

When asked if being further back in the field contributed to the crash, Piastri explained:

“Well, we had a couple of things going on. The first part I want to stress is that there is certainly a big element of it that was on me, cold tyres. I have used that exit kerb every lap of the weekend, but at the same time, I had about a hundred kilowatts of extra power that I didn’t expect, which is not insignificant."

Pointing out what he considers the most difficult part of suffering a crash, the McLaren driver added:

“The difficult part to take is that everything was working normally. It’s just a function of how the engines have to work with the rules. That’s the part that’s difficult to accept. It would almost be easier in some ways if we just said it was cold tyres and I was optimistic. But when you add in another factor like that, it becomes even more painful, I think.”

Piastri’s disappointment heightened by Australian fans

Piastri’s disappointment was further amplified by the home crowd, who had come out to support him. The 24-year-old admitted he never imagined starting the 2026 season this way.

“It’s obviously very disappointing. I don’t really have many other words than that, but I’m very sorry for everyone who came out and wanted to support me. Clearly, this is not the way I wanted to start the year either.”

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