Oscar Piastri was unable to start the Australian Grand Prix after crashing his McLaren while driving to the grid at his home race in Melbourne. When the pit lane opened 40 minutes before lights out, he lost control exiting Turn 4 and struck the barrier on the opposite side of the track. Piastri had qualified fifth.
Piastri accepted responsibility but said a sequence of issues contributed. He reported a battery problem leaving the pits, and said cold tyres and clipping the exit kerb combined with receiving roughly 100kW more power than expected from the new power units, which led to the loss of control.
McLaren chief executive Zak Brown said the team had not yet seen clear data and that Piastri had not reported a problem over the radio; a full post‑mortem will follow after the race. The team refocused on the car that remained in the event. George Russell won the race as Mercedes took a one‑two with Kimi Antonelli second, while Piastri’s team‑mate Lando Norris finished fifth for McLaren, the reigning constructors’ champions.
Formula 1 now heads to Shanghai for the season’s first Sprint weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix.