F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Oscar Piastri crashes OUT of race

Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Bahrain, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri crashes OUT at Azerbaijan Grand Prix

All the action from the start of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 21 September 2025 13:21 Updated: 18:12

F1 championship leader Oscar Piastri crashed out of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in a shock mistake before the end of the first lap.

Baku has been a nightmare weekend for Piastri, who crashed out in qualifying on Saturday and had to replace his chassis overnight.

However, the Aussie's new chassis barely got past the first corner before he tumbled down to last, and he also appeared to jump the start.

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A safety car was then deployed after Piastri locked up at Turn 5 and collided straight into the barriers, with disastrous consequences in his championship battle with Lando Norris.

As the marshals restored the barriers, a safety car led the remaining 19 drivers for four laps, before Max Verstappen controlled the restart and resumed the race in the lead.

Huge championship twist in Baku

Not only was Piastri suspected of a false start, but so too was the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, with their respective incidents reviewed by the stewards.

It was later confirmed that both Piastri and Alonso have been awarded a five-second time penalty for jumping the start.

However, Piastri will be unable to serve this penalty in Baku, with questions raised over whether it will carry over to the next race weekend in Singapore.

Norris was unable to make significant ground during the opening laps of the race, sandwiched between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in eighth.

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