‘I’m just very sorry’: home town heartbreak as Oscar Piastri crashes out before Australian Grand Prix begins

Sombre, pale and with eyes hidden by the brim of his cap, Oscar Piastri said sorry. The home favourite and one of the world’s fastest had just had a driver’s worst day, putting his car into the wall before the race had even begun.

His first thoughts were for Melbourne’s motorsport fans who had filled Albert Park with orange, green and gold. “I’m just very sorry, obviously, for everyone that came out and wanted to support me,” Piastri said.

The season is just a race old, though new regulations have already tested teams and drivers. The four-time world champion Max Verstappen crashed out in qualifying and five cars did not finish the race, which George Russell won ahead of Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli.

But for his own incident, Piastri took responsibility. “A scenario like that just shouldn’t happen, it’s obviously very disappointing it did.”

The 24-year-old’s promising Formula One career has been short but already there has been disappointment. A spin last year at Albert Park cost him a chance at becoming the first home winner in four decades, and that 34-point lead in the driver standings will follow him until he wins a title.

But he has never looked as low as he did at 3.24pm on Sunday afternoon. An hour after the incident, following an extended period hidden in the McLaren garage, Piastri emerged to admit culpability to the world’s media in a dozen separate interviews.

The Australian said there was “a big element of it that was me”, but also that his cold tires and the extra power from the new engines contributed to the crash. “I have used that exit curb every lap of the weekend, but I didn’t have to,” he said. “At the same time, I had about a hundred kilowatts of extra power that I didn’t expect, which is not insignificant.”

Piastri’s accident was a monumental letdown for one of the few truly international events on the Australian sporting calendar. That status was evident in the paddock where NFL players Kyren Williams and Kevin Dotson mingled with Australia’s two Super Bowl winners Jordan Mailata and Michael Dickson.

The LA Rams players were guests of Cadillac, the American team making its Formula One debut, which had also invited Hollywood star Terry Crews to the race. The film director Taika Waititi wandered the garages, and Succession lead Sarah Snook and her actor husband Dave Lawson were guests of Mercedes.

Australia’s sporting royalty were also in attendance, including the current and former men’s cricket captains Pat Cummins and Ricky Ponting, the swimmer/singer Cody Simpson and Olympic paddler Jess Fox.

A group of rugby league players led by Roosters Sam Walker and Angus Crichton bowled up to Nathan Lyon and his wife Emma who were enjoying McLaren’s hospitality. Travis Auld, the chief executive of Australian Grand Prix Corporation, shared a hug with former AFL colleague Gillon McLachlan. Greg Norman made a rare public appearance. There was even model Lara Worthington, whose former surname Bingle was a precursor to what was to come.

Piastri said the difficult part of his crash was that everything in the car was working normally. “It’s just a function of how the engines have to work with the rules, so it’s that’s the part that’s difficult to accept.”

News of the accident struck Albert Park like a wave, and some were driven to tears for the driver who grew up a few kilometres away in Melbourne’s south-east. One McLaren fan in the Prost grandstand, Des, said the incident happened when he was getting a drink. “I’ve got a message from a mate who’s on the other side of the track saying Oscar’s out,” he said.

“I sent him one back, I’m like, ‘what do you mean, he’s out on track?’ and he’s like, ‘nah, he’s crashed’. I’m like, ‘you’re kidding me’, oh mate. And then everyone walking around, you could just hear them talking. Some bloke actually working for the F1 company came up and he’s like, ‘dude, is that true?’”

Teenage fans Sarah and Matilda – the latter wearing a Piastri polo shirt – were attending their first race at Albert Park. They heard the Australian driver crashed on the commentary accompanying the coverage on the screens around the course. Matilda said she couldn’t repeat the swear word she uttered when she found out. “I’m just not happy,” she said, adding the pair had decided to go home midway through the race. “We’re actually leaving, we’re done.”

Another fan wearing a Piastri hat, Glenn, said the driver did not need to apologise. “That’s that’s what motor racing is,” he said. “He obviously made a mistake and he needs to hold his head high and he’s got plenty of races this year to go, so he’ll do us proud.”

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