The home grand prix for Oscar Piastri came to an end before the race had even started, as the McLaren driver lost control of his car on his way to the grid and crashed into the wall at Albert Park on Sunday.
The Melbourne born, 24 year old Piastri was out on the pre race lap when his car suddenly snapped sideways at the exit of Turn 4, leaving the crowd stunned as he climbed out of the car and walked back to the pits.
This was a bitter end to a weekend that had started well for the driver, as he was the fastest driver during the Friday practice session and fifth on the grid for the season opening race.
Piastri claimed that the accident was caused by a combination of bad timing and his car catching him out at the wrong time.
He claimed that after a gear shift, the McLaren suddenly produced 100 kilowatts more power than expected.
Zak Brown, the chief executive of McLaren, stated that the team would thoroughly examine the failure following the race and that nothing was evident in the preliminary data.
In front of his home crowd, Piastri had come to Melbourne as the local hope, hoping to turn an encouraging early pace into a breakthrough performance.
Rather, thousands of fans watched as their best chance to win the game vanished before the lights came on. For Australian supporters, this moment quickly became the afternoon’s most memorable moment.
And with Piastri gone, the race itself became a strong opening statement from Mercedes. Russell won from rookie team mate Kimi Antonelli in a one two, with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari completing the podium places.
It was not a good day for McLaren, though, as reigning champion Lando Norris crossed the line in fifth place after a difficult weekend in which he had complained about the behavior of the new cars.
For Piastri, though, it’s now on to the next event after a setback early in the season one that will sting him most because it’s now come at the worst possible place and time.
