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Oscar Piastri has conceded to paying the penalty for being over-aggressive after an incident that has played its part in ruling out fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo for the rest of the Dutch GP weekend.
Just 10 minutes into the second practice session, Piastri was approaching the banked Turn 3 when he lost the rear of his MCL60, sending the rear right into the TecPro barrier. The impact spun him around, leading to the front of the car additionally shunting him into the wall.
After coming to rest, the 22-year-old was left perpendicular to the barrier and on the racing line.
As a result, the next car on the scene a few seconds later in Ricciardo was forced to take evasive action, sending his AlphaTauri into the same barrier 10 metres earlier.
After sustaining an injury to his left wrist, Ricciardo was sent to a nearby local hospital for additional checks following an initial visit to the circuit medical centre.
X-rays confirmed a bone break in his left hand, sidelining him for the rest of this weekend in Zandvoort, and most likely for next Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza, leading to a call-up for reserve Liam Lawson.
Explaining what unfolded, a naturally downbeat Piastri said: “I just went in a little bit hot, tried to turn in a bit aggressively, and unfortunately found the wall.
“A shame, and unfortunate to give the guys a massive load of work. I’ll try and bounce back and have a good day.”
Although Piastri was involved in a first-corner shunt with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz at the last race in Belgium, that was a 50-50 call with regard to blame.
On this occasion, this incident was one of Piastri’s own making and the first to blot his copybook in what has otherwise been a superb rookie campaign.
Ironically, just 24 hours earlier, Piastri had commented on the fact Zandvoort is a circuit where a driver pays “a big, big price” for a mistake, with his words ultimately ringing true.
“I guess it was going to happen at some stage,” assessed Piastri. “Of course, you never want it to, but just pushing a little bit too hard.
“Around here, especially in that corner, you pay a big consequence if you overdo it a little bit.
“I’ll try not to do it again, and I’ll see what I can do for the rest of the weekend.”
The upside for Piastri is the performance of the MCL60 around the short, narrow seaside circuit, underlined by team-mate Lando Norris finishing quickest ahead of local hero Max Verstappen in his Red Bull.
Encouraged by Norris’ pace, and the fact his own car was working well prior to his shunt, Piastri said: “It’s clearly been a good day on Lando’s side, a quick FP2 for him.
“Even before (the crash) I was feeling quite good with the car, and the pace looked reasonable on the hard tyre.
“I think we can go into qualifying pretty confident although I’ve a few less laps under my belt and with a bit to learn.
“But definitely encouraging the car is looking quick.”
