McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has revealed the “three factors” that led to Oscar Piastri’s shock Australian Grand Prix crash even before a wheel had turned in anger.
Piastri was on a reconnaissance lap to the grid when his MCL40 clipped the kerb on the outside of Turn 4. The touch spat the home hero into a spin across the track before smashing into a wall on the opposite side.
It was another disastrous outing for Piastri in front of his own fans after his spin onto the grass last year in wet conditions when running in second place, almost beaching his car before making a recovery to ninth.
Describing what happened for Piastri as “very unfortunate”, and “definitely a tough moment for him in front of the Australian crowd”, Stella has no doubt his driver will quickly rebound in next weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.
“Oscar is a very tough guy mentally,” said Stella, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365.
“He will use this to get even more concentrated and determined, starting from China. We will make sure that we all face this in a united way. We are a team in any situation, involving anybody in our team.”
As to what unfolded with Piastri’s crash, Stella added: “When it comes to the circumstances, what we observe is fundamentally three factors: [first], the cold tyres, and when the wheel spin starts, it starts in a very sudden way.
“[And] These compounds, with them being on a kerb – a kerb that he has used pretty much every single lap – they don’t make this easier, though, when the tyres are cold.
“And this further compounds, with an element that doesn’t make it easier again, which is the fact that with these oscillations and following the shift, there’s extra torque, let’s say, that when we look at the behaviour of the power unit.
“It is not something that you would do unless, and which I understand is the case, there are some requirements that you need to meet in terms of how you deploy your torque.
“In testing, we might have seen some similar circumstances, but we didn’t have the combination of cold tyres and the kerb, which aggravated the fact that you may have these inconsistencies from torque deployment in grip-limited phases.”
Will Mercedes be caught with enough time for an F1 title fight?
Yes – We will see a title fight in 2026
No – Mercedes will be caught, but too late in the year
No – Mercedes will dominate all season
Don’t miss out on any of the Formula 1 action thanks to this handy 2026 F1 calendar that can be easily loaded into your smartphone or PC
