World championship leader Oscar Piastri suffered a dramatic crash on the opening lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Australian started the race ninth after a disastrous display in qualifying on Saturday and his fortunes failed to improve on raceday.
Piastri endured a nightmare start to the race when the lights went out, jumping the start, slowing down and then eventually getting away again.
That turn of events led to Piastri – who started the day 31 points clear at the top of the drivers’ standings – dropping all the way back to last place. It did not get much better from there, either.
As he approached the fifth corner of the tight street circuit in Baku, the McLaren driver locked up and shunted straight into the barriers, bringing his race to a premature end.
‘He has just locked up. He’s just locked up and gone straight,’ explained Sky Sports F1 expert Karun Chandhok. ‘He just sailed into the barrier.
‘He just snatched the brake. I can’t recall anyone hitting that barrier all weekend.’
The crash also brought his remarkable 34-race streak of finishing Grand Prixs to an end and handed his teammate Lando Norris a huge opportunity to make up some ground in the title race.
Piastri and Fernando Alonso were both handed five-second time penalties for jumping the start, though FIA officials have confirmed that Piastri’s sanction will not carry over to the Singapore Grand Prix following his early exit from the race.
