Piastri crashes out of Azerbaijan GP in huge setback for F1 championship leader

Championship leader Oscar Piastri has crashed out of the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on the first lap after a poor start which has ended his 34-race point-scoring streak. 

Starting ninth on the grid, he had a horrific start as he jumped the lights before bogging the car down as he fought against the anti-stall which dropped him to the back of the pack.

But at Turn 5, his race came to an end as he locked his brakes, hitting the barriers on the outside of the corner.

The driver had been noted for a jump start, something that would usually result in a penalty, but it will not be served given his crash under F1's penalty guidelines. 

Piastri entered the weekend with a 31-point lead over his team-mate Lando Norris, so the Azerbaijan GP is a big opportunity for the British driver and his championship aspirations.

This has been a difficult weekend for both McLaren drivers, with Piastri struggling with power unit issues on the Friday and crashing in qualifying. 

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Alexander Nemenov / AFP via Getty Images

"I think, yeah, yesterday was a bit of a struggle, definitely," Piastri said after qualifying. "I think today I felt much happier with the car and the job I was doing, you know, it was just a bit difficult to get it all together – that was the biggest thing, but the potential was there.

"Whereas yesterday, it was arguable if it was.

"So, I think I was much happier today, just, ultimately, I think tried a bit too hard in Turn 3.

"I haven't actually looked at what I did differently, because I didn't feel like I did that much differently. But, you know, a tiny bit can make a massive difference. So, yeah, obviously disappointed with how I performed."