Oscar Piastri crashes out of Azerbaijan GP in huge F1 title blow
Oscar Piastri crashes out on opening lap of Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
World championship leader Oscar Piastri has crashed out on the opening lap of the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Piastri suffered a nightmare start in Baku as he first jumped the start and fell to the very back of the field, before crashing into the barriers at Turn 6.
The Australian, who went into the race 31 points clear of McLaren teammate Lando Norris, locked up and went straight into the wall on the first lap.
Piastri's uncharacteristic mistake has given Norris a golden opportunity to claw back some ground in the title race.
It comes after Piastri crashed out of qualifying, leaving him a lowly ninth on the grid - two places behind teammate Norris who failed to capitalise on the situation.
Piastri's mistake analysed
"He has just locked up. He's just locked up and gone straight!" Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok said.
"He just sailed into the barrier.
"He just snatched the brake. I can't recall anyone hitting that barrier all weekend.
Bernie Collins added: "It looks to me like he actually jumped the start a little bit, then tried to recover a bit and lost all those positions."
Piastri was also handed a five-second time penalty for his jump start, which he cannot serve due to crashing out of the race.
Crucially, the FIA have confirmed Piastri will not have a grid penalty for the next race in Singapore as five-second time penalties do not affect the following race.
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