Oscar Piastri will not take part in his Australian Grand Prix home race after crashing his McLaren Formula 1 car on his lap to the grid.
Some 40 minutes before the race Piastri left the pits for the customary laps to the grid as teams conduct their final checks before taking up their grid positions.
But coming out of the Turn 4 left-hander, Piastri suddenly lost control over his McLaren as he crossed the exit kerbs, with his MCL40 spinning and veering into the wall on drivers’ left.
Piastri escaped without injury, but destroyed the front-end of his McLaren, with terminal damage to his right-front wheel and suspension, forcing the Australian to park his car on the spot as he dejectedly walked away from the scene.
Piastri had qualified fifth for his home race and was due to share the third row with team-mate Lando Norris.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Martin Keep / AFP via Getty Images
The crash was a huge blow to the Australian fans, with a record crowd turning out to cheer the Melbourne native on. The sold-out Piastri grandstand on the main straight overlooking the McLaren garage, which had been cheering its driver’s exit from the pitlane, fell silent in one fell swoop.
Mercedes driver George Russell will start from pole at Albert Park ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar third.
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