Piastri opens up on Baku ‘perfect storm’ – impact from Monza

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Oscar Piastri has opened up about the complicated mindset that contributed to his disastrous Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend last September, describing the sequence of missteps and frustrations in Baku as a “perfect storm” of factors that unsettled both his rhythm and confidence.

The McLaren driver admitted that his psyche heading into Baku wasn’t ideal – partly shaped by what had happened two weeks earlier at Monza, where team orders caused friction inside the garage.

At the Italian Grand Prix, Piastri had jumped teammate Lando Norris in the pit cycle after stopping first to defend from Charles Leclerc, only for McLaren to instruct him to hand the position back to his teammate who had suffered a slow stop.

Piastri complied but later admitted that the episode and his own performance had left him dissatisfied.

“Ultimately, [it was] a combination of quite a few things,” Piastri explained on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast about his Baku weekend.

“Obviously, the race before that was Monza, which I didn't feel was a particularly great weekend from my own performance, and there was obviously what happened with the pit-stops.

“But then also Baku itself, Friday was tough. Things weren't working; I was overdriving. I wasn't very happy with how I was driving, and ultimately, probably trying to make up for that a little bit on Saturday.”

The Perfect Storm

Piastri’s Azerbaijan weekend quickly spiralled out of control – starting with an engine issue in FP1, followed by a crash in qualifying, a jump-start at lights out, and a first-lap accident that ended his race.

He said the combination of lingering frustration, technical problems, and overambition proved disastrous.

“There were some things in the lead-up that were maybe not the most helpful, and then things that happened on the weekend – we had an engine problem in FP1 that kind of unsettled things a bit.

“Then I was driving not that well, we were on C6 tyres that weekend, which are now notoriously tricky to handle. There were just a lot of little things that eventually kind of added up.

“I felt like on Saturday, my pace was good, but I was just trying a little too hard, and ultimately, I think that led to the crash in qualifying, and then the race was a combination of a few things, like starting further back and wanting to make up for the day before.”

A Bad but Useful Weekend

Looking back, the Australian said the experience – though painful – offered valuable lessons about pressure management and self-awareness.

“Reacting to something in the shift lights for the jumpstart, and trying to pinpoint which of those was the cause and effect, we'll never know, but ultimately, Baku was the perfect storm of quite a few things. It was a pretty terrible weekend,” he explained.

“I look back on it now, and there is no beating around, it was the worst weekend I've ever had in racing, but probably the most useful.”

For Piastri, Baku marked a harsh but formative reminder that even minor frustrations can snowball in Formula 1 – and that recovery sometimes starts with admitting when the mind gets ahead of the car.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.