Oscar Piastri is being torched by F1 fans after an ugly incident in the Canadian Grand Prix that ruined Alex Albon’s race. The Aussie driver suffered a disastrous start to Sunday’s race, forced to pit almost immediately after McLaren sent their drivers out on the wrong tyres.
Piastri was desperate to make up ground after returning from the pits in 14th place. But the Aussie went too far on lap 15 when he tried to get up the inside of Albon.
Oscar Piastri wiped Alex Albon out of the Canadian Grand Prix. Image: Getty/F1
Piastri gave Albon no room while trying to pass him on a corner, crashing into the side of his rival. Albon was forced out of the race as a result, and Piastri later copped a 10-second penalty after an investigation.
“You can’t really defend that if you’re Piastri,” said Martin Brundle on Sky Sports commentary. “He thought there was a gap but there wasn’t. It’s a 10-second penalty because it knocked Albon out of the race.”
Piastri copped a pasting on social media, with fans questioning what he was doing. One person wrote: “Piastri dives in with extreme optimism (seriously, what did he think he was gonna pull off there?) and ends Albon’s race!”
Another wrote: “Piastri went deep into the hairpin and hit the side of Albon. He’s surely getting a penalty for that. Nightmare race for him so far.” While a third added: “Amateur hour from Piastri.”
Oscar Piastri crashed into the side of Alex Albon. Image: F1
Six drivers fail to finish in Canadian Grand Prix carnage
Albon was one of six drivers who failed to finish the race as carnage swept through the Canadian Grand Prix. George Russell suffered a dramatic DNF from first-place after a battle with Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli.
Russell was leading on lap 30 when he sailed off the track and had to park his car. He jumped out of the car and hurled his head-rest in anger, earning a sanction from F1 officials.
“That is very painful for his championship chances,” Brundle said. “You can see something has broken behind him, hydraulic-wise or power unit-wise.”
Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris was forced out of the race with mechanical issues, capping a dirty day for the British team. Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso and Arvid Lindblad were the other drivers who didn’t finish.
Antonelli won tha race ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Piastri was way down in 11th.