Oscar Piastri crashed out of the Australian Grand Prix earlier than it even started.
Piastri crashed on his reconnaissance lap lower than an hour earlier than the primary race of the 2026 Formula 1 season was set to start. Drivers sometimes take to the monitor to shake down their vehicles earlier than the race begins through a lap at lower than full velocity.
The Australian driver crashed in Turn 4 as his crew stated his automotive snapped unfastened as he was shifting gears. As the appropriate aspect tires of Piastri’s automotive have been on the surface curb — drivers go over curbs on a regular basis in F1 races — Piastri misplaced management of the automotive and it hit the wall.
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The wreck was important sufficient to make sure that McLaren wouldn’t have sufficient time to restore Piastri’s automotive earlier than the race and left 1000’s of followers in shock.
Piastri was set to begin the race in fifth after Mercedes’ George Russell and Kimi Antonelli locked out the entrance row with a dominating qualifying efficiency. Piastri, 24, completed third within the factors standings in 2025 as McLaren gained its second straight constructor’s title and teammate Lando Norris gained his first world championship.