Oscar Piastri’s impressive five-year streak without a collision came to a crashing halt in the Canadian GP

Oscar Piastri sees Montreal Q3 crash as the end of a 5-year streak without wall collisions

Oscar Piastri’s impressive five-year streak without a collision came to a crashing halt in the Canadian GP

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri (Image credit: Planetsport)

Oscar Piastri‘s crash during Q3 had a major impact on qualifying, eliminating the possibility of a fast lap due to rainfall on the track. This resulted in a reshuffled grid, with Nico Hulkenberg securing second place before a three-place grid penalty. However, for Piastri, it marked the end of 5 years of avoiding collisions with the walls at Circuit Giles Villeneuve.

The Australian told the media that crashing is never a pleasant experience. Oscar Piastri further added that it was, in fact, the first time in five years that he collided with a wall. The McLaren driver acknowledged that such an incident was bound to happen sooner or later. Despite the penalties and other factors, he expressed that he wasn’t overly disappointed and believed that his potential outcome would have been no more than eighth place.

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“Of course, it’s never nice to crash. It’s honestly, I think, the first wall I’ve hit in five years. It was going to happen at some stage, I guess, but I think even with how the penalties worked out and stuff like that, I don’t know how much more there would have been than P8, so I wasn’t too disappointed,” said Piastri.

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Oscar Piastri acknowledges personal ‘mistakes’ contributed to finishing outside the points

Oscar Piastri MCL60 at the 2023 Canadian GP (Image credit: Autogear)

After a rain-affected qualifying session, Oscar Piastri crashed out and qualified P8 for the main race. The Australian then completed the race just outside the points in 11th position at the Canadian Grand Prix. The McLaren driver, however, admitted that driver error ended up costing him points.

Piastri told the media post-race that his first stint went well. He made some good moves and felt satisfied with the overall speed. However, in the following stints, he faced some struggles. He had trouble keeping up with the pace and made a few mistakes here and there. As a result, he believed these issues likely cost them a chance to earn points, which was disappointing.

“The first stint was very good,” Oscar said. “The next couple of stints [I] struggled a little bit, just struggled for a bit of pace and also made a few mistakes here and there. Ultimately I think it probably cost us a spot in the points,” he concluded.

Currently, the former F2 champion is the best-placed rookie in the drivers’ standings in P14. After scoring his debut Formula One point at his home Grand Prix, Piastri has 5 points to his name. McLaren is P6 in the standings with 17 points to their name.

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