Untelevised Oscar Piastri team radio emerges after Australian Grand Prix crash

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri reported that his battery was “completely empty” moments before his accident ahead of Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, untelevised team radio has revealed.

It comes after Piastri told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets that a “not insignificant” 100-kilowatt power surge contributed to his early exit in Melbourne.

Oscar Piastri reported ‘completely empty battery’ over team radio before 100kw surge

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Piastri qualified fifth for the first race of the F1 2026 season, but was prevented from taking his place on the grid at Albert Park after crashing on the pre-race reconnaissance lap.

The McLaren driver lost control of his MCL40 on the exit of Turn 4 before striking the barrier and destroying the front-right corner of his car, putting him out on the spot.

Speaking to PlanetF1.com and other media outlets after his DNS, Piastri admitted that “a big element of that was me” before alluding to an unexpected power surge as he accelerated out of Turn 4.

Analysis: Australian Grand Prix

Australian GP conclusions: Formula Net Zero, Russell’s main threat, Aston Martin-Honda mistake

Winners and losers from the 2026 Australian Grand Prix (Albert Park)

And untelevised team radio from the Australian Grand Prix has hinted how Piastri was likely taken by surprise by the car’s extra torque on the exit of Turn 4, having reported to the team moments earlier that his battery was “completely empty.”

On the approach to Turn 3 after the leaving the pit lane, Piastri was asked by a member of the McLaren pit wall to provide a routine radio check with the driver also reporting his battery is running low.

McLaren: “Recharge off is good. Radio check down to Turn 3.

Piastri: “Yeah, radio check. I have no… my battery is completely empty already, so I have no power but I think it’s OK.”

Piastri then navigated Turn 3 as normal before touching the exit kerb at Turn 4 and spinning into the wall.

McLaren: “Oscar, are you OK?”

Piastri: “Yeah, I’m… I’m fine.”

Piastri’s race engineer, Tom Stallard, then came on to the airwaves and said: “Oscar, just make sure you turn the car fully off before you get out.”

Max Verstappen, the Red Bull driver and the four-time world champion, was the first on the scene following Piastri’s accident.

Verstappen’s race engineer, GianPiero Lambiase, urged his driver to be careful as he made his way through the debris.

Verstappen: “Oh. Big crash. McLaren.”

Lambiase: “Easy.”

As reported by PlanetF1.com on Tuesday, Verstappen also had trouble with the battery ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, reporting over team radio just before the start that his power pack was “almost empty.”

George Russell, the Mercedes driver and race winner, also spoke of having an empty battery as he lined up on the grid after the formation lap.

Explaining his accident after returning to the paddock, Piastri told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets: “We had a couple of things going on.

“I think the first part I want to stress is that there is certainly a big element of that was me.

“Cold tyres. I have used that exit kerb every lap of the weekend, but I didn’t have to [on that occasion].

“At the same time, I had about 100 kilowatts extra power that I didn’t expect, which is not insignificant.

“I think the difficult part to take is everything was working normally. It’s just the function of how the engines have to work with the rules.

“It’s that part that’s difficult to accept. It would almost be easier in some ways if we just said there’s cold tyres and I was optimistic, but when you add in another factor like that it always is more difficult to take.”

He added: “Just obviously disappointed. A scenario like that just shouldn’t happen. It’s obviously very disappointing it did.

“It’s obviously very disappointing. I don’t really have many other words than that.

“Just very sorry, obviously, for everyone that came out and wanted to support me.

“It’s clearly not the way I wanted to start the year either.

“Just shock and surprise really [as the incident unfolded].

“I was backwards before I even really had a chance to react. It all happened pretty quick.

“Crashing out of the race, trying to get to the race, [shouldn’t happen].”

Additional reporting by Mat Coch

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: Toto Wolff emerges as surprise bidder for Alpine stake against Christian Horner