Oscar Piastri crashes out of Azerbaijan GP qualifying in huge blow to championship fight
Oscar Piastri suffered a violent crash during the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying session
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Clive Rose / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Current championship leader Oscar Piastri crashed out of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying during Q3.
The Australian driver crashed head-on into the wall at Turn 3, causing significant damage to the front of the car. He quickly confirmed that he was OK and was able to exit the car unassisted.
Piastri's team-mate and championship rival Lando Norris had been on a flying lap, completing purple sectors at the time of the crash, but the red flag hindered his chances of taking provisional pole. Once Piastri's McLaren is cleared from the track and the session resumes, there will be just 3m41s left on the clock.
Piastri has had a tricky weekend so far after encountering a power unit issue during practice.
"I think I just braked a little bit late. I have not seen any data or anything but normally what happens when you end up locking a brake, it's a bit late so yeah just disappointing obviously. I felt like the car was in a good place and yeah disappointing way to end," Piastri explained to Sky Sports F1 after qualifying.
"I mean the first two corners were really good and then I don't know if I just tried a bit too much or the rain has been around so there's some corners even in the out lap that felt a little bit tricky," he added when asked if he was expecting more grip on the soft tyre.
"But I don't know if that was one of them necessarily so yeah ultimately I need to go and have a look but I think just a case of trying a little bit too hard."
Looking ahead to the race, he continued, "I think the win is ambitious but let's wait and see how qualifying shakes out first. I think we can definitely make progress, the car has been quick this weekend so hopefully we can use that to make some progress."
Photos from Azerbaijan GP - Practice and Qualifying
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Azerbaijan GP - Saturday, in photos
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