Overview
Australian Oscar Piastri, McLaren's driver, said he learned some hard lessons from the accident in Baku as he chases a return to winning form at the Singapore Grand Prix, the season's 18th round of Formula 1.
Piastri, who leads the standings with 324 points, hit the barriers twice in the Azerbaijan round, first in practice and then on the opening lap of the race after a poor start, forcing him out.
That crash ended a streak of 34 consecutive races in the points for the Australian, while teammate and title rival Lando Norris salvaged some morale for McLaren by finishing seventh, keeping the team in the fight for the constructors' crown.
Reflections and Strategy
Piastri said in a post-practice briefing: "We don’t want weekends like Baku, and we know we cannot allow ourselves to go there again".
He added: "Surely, there were tough lessons to learn on my side. But I think the team identified opportunities from the weekend to improve, and that’s always important".
Title Fight and Outlook
Dutchman Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion and winner in Italy and Azerbaijan, benefited from rivals' struggles to close the gap to Piastri to 69 points with seven rounds and three sprint races left.
With Sunday’s winner earning 25 points and the sprint on Saturday adding eight more, Piastri conceded Verstappen has time to keep pressuring him.
On Pace and Plans
The 24-year-old Australian, chasing his first world title, said: "Based on the last two races, I think Red Bull and Max will be strong again," and vowed to leave the "chaotic" side of Baku behind.
He added: "Nothing drastic needs to change or I’ll end up swapping what’s working. In 16 or 17 weekends, what I’ve been doing has worked very well. If I can keep focusing on the things that went well, the results will stay on that track".
Piastri had grabbed the Dutch Grand Prix pole position on Saturday, leading by a hair with teammate Lando Norris close behind.
He set the fastest lap in 1:08.662, finishing 0.012 seconds ahead.
The Australian took pole for the fifth time this season, keeping his lead in the drivers’ standings, with more than nine points over Norris ahead of the race on Sunday.
Even with Verstappen's win in Monza, a return to the street circuit that Piastri won last year could help McLaren reclaim control of the world championship.
Baku’s streets are famous for crashes that force the safety car and bring surprises that are part of the show.
Norris understands that keeping his championship hopes alive cannot afford another failure like in the Dutch GP when a mechanical failure forced him to retire.
With seven races still on the calendar and the sprint format mixing up points, fans can expect more pressure from Red Bull and more resilience from McLaren. Piastri insists he will stay focused, and if he can keep the car on track, the title battle could still deliver drama, laughs included.
Punchline 1: If the season were a video game, Piastri would press Continue after the crash and hope for better luck.
Punchline 2: The only thing faster than Verstappen this weekend is my ability to hit snooze on my alarm.
