Oscar Piastri IMAGO / Marco Canoniero

F1 Championship Leader Oscar Piastri Crashes Out In Azerbaijan Grand Prix Qualifying

Originally posted on F1 on SI | By Kaitlin Tucci | Last updated Sep 20, 2025 10:14 AM ET

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix Qualifying Session that should have lasted a short one hour for F1 drivers, teams, and fans alike has nearly hit the two hour mark with a record six red flags in the session.

Most notably, during the Q3 top 10 qualifying, Oscar Piastri, the F1 World Driver Championship leader found the wall during a flying lap.

When asked about his crash, Piastri seemed calm but edged with slight disappointment,

"Too much speed in that corner. We braked a little bit late - I need to go back and look. Obviously, a disappointing end. The car was good and the pace was there. Disappointing end."Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Oscar Piastri's F1 Title Fight at Risk

With Piastri being the 7th car to crash throughout the Azerbaijan GP qualifying, he isn't alone in his woes. However, Oscar Piastri has been neck and neck with McLaren teammate Lando Norris for the F1 World Driver Championship all season.

As it stands, Piastri sits just 31 points back from Lando Norris in the F1 Standings. However, after a tumultuous Italian Grand Prix for the McLaren duo, Lando has slowly begun to close the gap to Piastri.

Piastri, however, didn't seem to be worried about the Championship when asked after his Qualifying Crash.

"We'll see where qualifying shakes out for us. I'll go back and have a look at what went wrong for us, but I'm very much happy with the car today which is a good thing. Hopefully we can claw back some progress tomorrow."Oscar Piastri, McLaren

The championship leader slams into the barriers #F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/9Qvx6K3TwG
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 20, 2025

At best, Oscar Piastri will begin the Azerbaijan Grand Prix tomorrow in 9th position. His teammate Lando Norris qualified in P7 after a lap that was bested by Max Verstappen who claimed pole.

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Weather Forecast: F1 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Weather Forecast In Baku

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This article first appeared on F1 on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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