The McLaren driver jumped the start, creeping forward before stopping and leaving himself swamped by the field.
As he tried to recover, Piastri locked up under braking into Turn 5 while attempting to pass Esteban Ocon’s Haas, sliding into the barrier and retiring from the race.
It was his first retirement since the 2023 United States Grand Prix, ending both a 44-race finishing streak and a 34-race points streak.
“Yeah certainly not my finest moment,” he told Sky Sports F1. “Just anticipated the start too much and yeah.
“Silly, simple error really with that. I mean the crash, just didn’t anticipate the dirty air in the way I should have. Clearly went into the corner way too hot and that was that.”
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Reflecting on the weekend overall, Piastri acknowledged a string of minor mistakes and an inability to fully find his rhythm.
“Friday was a tough day. I think Saturday, the potential was very good,” he added.
“I had a lot of sequences or sectors that were incredibly strong and just never got it all together… it’s obviously disappointing.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella described the weekend as “difficult overall,” noting that both drivers faced challenges.
“Today, we couldn’t improve the situation. Actually, we made it worse if anything with the crash that saw Oscar involved,” Stella said.
“Some uncharacteristic mistakes for Oscar… hopefully they were all accumulated in this event and now we will be clear for the rest of the season.
“He is probably the most solid, consistent driver so far. So just a one-off event hopefully for him.”
Stella also praised the team’s garage efforts in quickly repairing Piastri’s car.
“The biggest positive we have had this weekend is the way in which the whole team acted together to repair Oscar’s car,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of work in the garage. The two crews working together to rebuild Oscar’s car — thank you to the team at the track and thank you to the support that came from the factory.”
Piastri’s retirement presented a chance for teammate Lando Norris to close the championship gap, but the Briton could only gain six points, finishing seventh — the same position he started — leaving Piastri’s lead at 25 points heading into Singapore.
Norris struggled with traffic and a slow pit stop, leaving him unable to get past Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson despite stretching his medium tyres during the race.
“I don’t know why everybody says that [it was an opportunity missed],” Norris said.
“I did the best I could yesterday and the best I could today.
“Of course, today I wanted more. So it was not a good result. But I couldn’t do anything more today.
“It was lost yesterday because of going out a bit early. Not doing the best lap.
“Maybe you could’ve gained a couple of positions, but I don’t think it really changes anything today.
“It’s just impossible to overtake.”
Norris also acknowledged the progress of rival teams and Red Bull’s upgraded pace.
“I think people have caught [us],” he admitted.
“Red Bull brought upgrades last weekend. Their race pace is strong.
“It’s hard to be perfect in the world of Formula 1. I’m trying to work on things and can I learn some things better? Yeah.”
The combination of Piastri’s crash and Norris’ struggles meant McLaren recorded their lowest points haul since the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix and failed to secure the constructors’ championship, which will now remain undecided until the Singapore round in two weeks.
Despite the disappointment, Piastri remains focused on self-improvement and the long championship fight.
“For me, I’m solely focussed on myself and what I can do to improve,” the 24-year-old admitted.
“There’s still a long way to go and if you have good or bad weekends, the championships are far from over so that’s what I’m focussed on.”
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