Oscar Piastri shoulders blame for Azerbaijan qualifying crash

What could have been a definitive qualifying session for championship leader Oscar Piastri ended in the wall at Turn 3, bringing out a record-breaking sixth red flag in qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

While the McLaren driver was willing to admit that there were a lot of factors contributing to making this specific session such a challenge, he’s pinning the blame firmly on his own lapel until he hears otherwise.

Oscar Piastri shoulders blame for Azerbaijan Grand Prix quali crash

Few drivers have been as consistent in 2025 as championship leader Oscar Piastri.

While the Australian racer hasn’t won every race, he’s been a regular feature on the podium, and at every race so far this year, he’s started from the top three. But in Azerbaijan, that streak came to an end.

The Baku City Circuit was cool and windy come Saturday afternoon, making for some seriously challenging conditions as all 20 drivers attempted to set their fastest laps of the weekend. Many a driver was caught out by a stray wind gust, with their day coming to a close in the wall.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was one such driver.

In the final four minutes of qualifying, the Australian driver was pushing hard on a flying lap, only to end up crashed into the Turn 3 wall. His session was over in an instant, leaving him to start ninth on the grid as he brought out a record-breaking sixth caution flag.

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Overall, it’s been a challenging weekend for the championship leader.

Speaking to media after qualifying, he admitted, “Yesterday was a bit of a struggle, definitely. I think today, I felt much happier with the car and the job I was doing.

“Just a bit difficult to get it all together. That was the biggest thing, but the potential was there, whereas yesterday, it was arguable. So I think I was much happier today.

“Just ultimately, I think tried a bit too hard in Turn 3. I haven’t actually looked at what I did differently, because I didn’t feel like I did that much differently, but, you know, a tiny bit can make a mess of it. So, yeah, obviously disappointed with how performed.”

Asked if there were external factors contributing to the accident, Piastri acknowledged that a lot could have played against him; however, he declined to place the weight of the blame for the crash on anyone but himself.

“Having it this windy is very tough,” he explained. “You add in the [tyre] compounds… you know, I think everyone expected the medium to be a good step better. In the end, I don’t really think it was.

“A bit of an interesting dynamic from that side as well. But you add in wind, tyre uncertainty, a little bit of rain, cold conditions on a street track like this, and stuff is going to happen.

“There was a bit of rain around, yes, so I don’t know if that contributed. I don’t know if I got a gust of wind. I don’t know.

“But at the moment, I’ve never one to blame it on something other than myself, and that’s what I’m going to stick with until I see something that tells me otherwise.”

The damage of his ninth-place start was somewhat mitigated when teammate Lando Norris could only set a lap good enough for the seventh-place slot on the starting grid. Piastri admitted that could “potentially” be a consolation, but he was “more disappointed” than anything.

Race day, however, offers a chance for success.

“I mean, also not many people have done long runs this weekend, so the strategy is kind of up in the air a little bit,” he said.

“That gives us opportunities. We’ll have to wait and see.”

This could be a critical weekend for McLaren, with the team on the cusp of securing another World Constructors’ Championship. Doing so would require one driver to win the race and the other to finish no lower than third; at the start of the weekend, that would have seemed inevitable. Now, Piastri and Norris will have to fight hard if they’re looking to lock up the WCC before Singapore.

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