Watch: Oscar Piastri clatters into the barriers on the first lap of the F1 Azerbaijan GP

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri crashed into the Warriors on the first lap of the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday. It has been a nightmare weekend for the Aussie driver as he has looked ragged from the start of the FP1 session and has been behind his teammate and championship rival Lando Norris on the track.

Starting the race from P9 after his crash in qualifying, the championship leader made a horrible getaway as he jumped the start. To minimize the damage, the MCL39 went into anti-stall, which proved costly for Piastri as he slipped to the back of the grid.

In his bid to make some positions, Oscar Piastri went into the inside of Haas F1 driver Esteban Ocon's inside onto Turn 5 and locked his brakes and clattered into the barriers for the second time in as many days.

It was Oscar Piastri's first DNF of the season and second costly mistake after his off in the mixed conditions in the season opener in Melbourne, where he eventually finished in P9. The Melbourne-native could also get a further penalty for his jump start off the line, which he would have to serve in the Singapore Grand Prix a couple of weeks later.

Following his crash in the qualifying, the Woking-based outfit had changed the chassis on Piastri's car, but their efforts went in vain as the 24-year-old failed to get past five corners.

Oscar Piastri analyzes his crash in Azerbaijan GP qualifying

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri stated that he was disappointed following his crash in the qualifying session at the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Speaking with F1.com, the Aussie admitted that he was unable to control the car under braking and said:

“I probably braked a little bit late – I need to go back and have a look. I feel like the car was good and the pace was there, so just a disappointing way to end it. We’ll see where Qualifying shakes out first. I’ll go back and have a look at where it all went wrong today, but I’ve been much happier with the car today, which is a good thing."

Piastri's miserable weekend could get much worse if Lando Norris gets a strong result in the main race and could take huge chunks of points in the title race. The Brit trails his title rival by 31 points with seven races and three Sprints remaining in the 2025 season.

Edited by Devang Chauhan