Oscar Piastri crashes on way to 2026 Australian Grand Prix grid
8th March 2026McLaren’s Oscar Piastri will not start his home race at the Australian Grand Prix after the Melbourne driver crashed on the way to the grid.
Feature image credit: Pirelli
Having qualified fifth on the grid, Piastri will not start his home race after the Australian crashed out on the recon lap after the pit exit light turned green.
Piastri was conducting his usual out-laps, circulating the Albert Park circuit as the build-up for the Australian GP continued. However, when the Melbourne-born driver reached turn four, the Australian lost control of his car and slammed into the barrier.
Onboards showed that Piastri took a bit of kerb, and Lando Norris’ race engineer confirmed the #81 lost it on an upshift, which sent the car into a spin and across the track. The damage was so significant that he was not able to continue driving, with severe damage to his front suspension, and he pulled off to the side of the track at turn five.
Absolute dejection for Oscar Piastri and the home fans 💔🤯#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/TcdXCJl2sV
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 8, 2026
Fortunately, Piastri was unhurt and climbed out of the car to make his way back to the McLaren garage. But, he would not start his home race.
It means McLaren will only run one car during the race: Norris’ #1 McLaren.
The Australian Grand Prix will get underway at 3pm (local time).
Read more Formula 1 here:
- George Russell heads Mercedes front row at Australian Grand Prix
- George Russell clears gap to Hamilton in FP3 at Australian GP
- Oscar Piastri tops second practice at Australian Grand Prix
- Charles Leclerc pips Hamilton to fastest FP1 lap at Australian GP
- Valtteri Bottas will serve grid penalty at Australian Grand Prix
- Weather report: the latest forecast ahead of Australian Grand Prix
Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from ApexMotorsports.co.uk!
Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
