Oscar Piastri has now faced the media following his devastating pre-race crash at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix. Reflecting on the incident that ended his hometown race, the McLaren driver shed light on what caused the crash.
Speaking to the press in the paddock, Piastri did not shy away from the disappointment that silenced the Melbourne crowd.
“Obviously, just disappointed. A scenario like that just shouldn’t happen. Obviously disappointed it did,” Piastri admitted via Crash.net.
The Australian was quick to admit responsibility for the incident.
“We had a couple of things going on,” he explained. “I think the first part I want to stress is that there was certainly a big element of it that was me: cold tyres.”
He added that his line through the corner might have been a factor given the lack of grip. “I have used that exit kerb every lap of the weekend, but maybe I didn’t have to.”
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A 100kW Surprise Partly Caused The Crash
The new hybrid power units deliver energy in ways that can catch even world-class drivers completely off guard.
“At the same time, I had 100Kw of extra power that I didn’t expect, which is not insignificant,” he revealed.
For context, 100kW is roughly equivalent to an instant injection of 134 horsepower straight to the rear wheels. When applied unexpectedly on cold tires while running over an exit curb, a spin is almost inevitable.
“The difficult part to take there is that everything was working normally,” he continued. “It’s just the function of how the engines have to work with the rules.
“That’s the part that’s difficult to expect. It would be easier to say if it was cold tyres and I was a bit too optimistic. But when you add in another factor like that, it always is even more painful.”
Despite the Woking outfit starting the 2026 season on the back foot compared to a dominant Mercedes front row, Piastri keeps his eyes on the remaining 23 races.
“I think up until today, we did a lot of things well,” he noted. “We maybe identified some things we need to change and do a better job at. But through practice and qualifying it felt pretty comfortable, as comfortable as it can be in these cars.”
“Felt like I was building into it nicely. That element is not too different to 12 months ago. I’m just trying to take the learning from it.”
