F1 standings leader Oscar Piastri crashes on lap 1 at Azerbaijan GP

By Canadian Press on September 21, 2025.

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Standings leader Oscar Piastri crashed on the first lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday to hand his McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris a chance to slash Piastri’s lead in the Formula 1 title fight.

Piastri seemed to false-start and then nearly stall off the line and dropped to the back of the field, before sliding into the barrier as he tried to recover places. The Australian crashed for the second day in a row in Baku after also hitting the barrier in qualifying.

The incident was a blow to McLaren’s chances of sealing the constructors’ title.

Norris started seventh and his McLaren teammate Piastri ninth for Sunday’s race after a chaotic qualifying session with plenty of crashes, rain and red flags. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took pole position in Azerbaijan for the first time in his career.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

The Associated Press