Oscar Piastri admitted that his opening lap horror show in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was “not my finest moment,” costing him the chance to extend his Formula 1 title lead.
The Australian was the subject of two uncharacteristic errors which ended his race at Turn 5, just a matter of yards after lights out.
A misjudgement at the start saw Piastri initially jump it before the lights went out, stopping and seeing his McLaren go into anti-stall, sending him to the very back of the pack.
Then, approaching Turn 5, he took too much speed into the braking zone, and sailed straight into the outside wall, confirming his first DNF since the 2023 American GP.
It cost Piastri the chance to extend his Drivers’ title lead, and the chance to help McLaren secure the Constructors’ Championship.
“Yeah, certainly not my finest at the moment,” Piastri confessed to Sky Sports F1, adding his startline misdemeanour was a “silly, simple error”.
Piastri added: “I mean the crash, [I] just didn’t anticipate the dirty air in the way I should have and yeah, clearly went into the corner way too hot and that was that.”
There was no excuse offered by Piastri for the early end to his afternoon, admitting that he should have been aware “the grip level was low” at the start.
“So, you know, I’m certainly not blaming it on anything other than myself,” he added. “Just yeah, didn’t make the judgement calls that I needed to at the right time and that’s obviously just part of it.”
Piastri ‘solely focused’ on himself after Norris labours to seventh
Piastri indicated as early as Friday that there was a potential uphill battle, despite finishing second in an FP1 1-2, citing that there were things needed to improve the MCL39’s package.
Asked if he felt that the whole weekend has not felt like it has flowed, Piastri agreed.
“More or less, I mean, Friday was a tough day,” he said.
“I think Saturday, the potential was very good. You know, I had a lot of sequences or sectors that were incredibly strong and just never got it all together.
“Obviously, qualifying yesterday was what it was and then today, you know, just more silly mistakes.
“Yes, it was certainly a messy weekend for sure. I would be more concerned if I was slow and trying to make up for it that way and having these errors because of that.
“The fact that they’re just simple lapses in judgement.
“You know, it’s obviously not a position I want to be in or put especially the mechanics in because it’s been a rough weekend for them.
“But, you know, if I’m trying to find a silver lining, then I suppose I have that.”
Piastri was given somewhat of a reprieve as team-mate Lando Norris struggled too, finishing a lowly seventh after a botched pitstop, the second in successive races.
But Piastri seemed to take no comfort in that, saying his own performances are his only concern.
“Yes, you know, that, I guess, is what it is,” he reasoned. “I’m not too concerned about that. I think, for me, I’m solely focused on myself and what I can do to improve.
“There’s still a long way to go and, you know, if you have good or bad weekends, the championship’s far from over. So, that’s one thing.”
READ MORE – Max Verstappen dominates F1 Azerbaijan GP as Oscar Piastri crashes out on opening lap
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