David Brabham tells Oscar Piastri why his Azerbaijan Grand Prix crash could be a ‘blessing’

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Oscar Piastri has left David Brabham with one “question” after the McLaren driver penned his first DNF in 45 races with a first-lap crash in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old was chasing down a record held by Lewis Hamilton ahead of last weekend’s visit to Baku. But Piastri has now seen his streak of 44 consecutive Grand Prix finishes come to an end, leaving Hamilton atop the charts due to his 48-race run between 2018 and 2020.

Piastri was also on a run of 34 consecutive top-10 finishes, but endured a torrid time in the City of Wind last weekend. McLaren had to build up their spare chassis after Piastri crashed in qualifying for the Azerbaijan GP, before he then found another wall on Lap 1 last Sunday.

The Melbourne native started the Azerbaijan GP from only P9 on the grid after he buried his MCL39 in the Turn 3 barriers without posting a lap time during Q3. But Piastri would pen his second major crash of the Baku weekend in the Azerbaijan GP when he found the wall at T5.

Oscar Piastri’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix crash can let him and McLaren ‘refocus’

His DNF in Baku is only the second major mistake that Piastri has made throughout the 2025 F1 season so far, following his spin during the Australian Grand Prix back in round one of the 17 held. Piastri spun amid a late rain shower in Melbourne, yet he was able to recover to P9.

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And former Simtek driver Brabham now questions if Piastri’s Azerbaijan GP crash was due to his Australian compatriot feeling the pressure of leading the 2025 F1 drivers’ championship. He has the chance to become the first Australian to win the F1 title since Alan Jones in 1980.

At the same time, Brabham believes Piastri’s Azerbaijan GP crash can act as a “blessing” for the 24-year-old and McLaren. If the pressure was starting to impact the 2020 F3 and 2021 F2 champion, Piastri’s crash in Baku can let him and McLaren refocus for the rest of the year.

Brabham told RacingNews365: “McLaren and Oscar had just one of those bad weekends. [It] just didn’t quite work out for them. [There were] too many mistakes that were very costly.

“You have to ask the question, why? Is that the pressure of everything building to the point where it has to have like a pop-off valve to release the pressure and readjust for the rest of the season?

“It could be seen as a blessing in some way, because it’s helped them to do that and refocus for the rest of the season. So, it’ll be fascinating to see what happens next.”

Oscar Piastri has never produced back-to-back DNFs in his single-seater racing career

Piastri’s first DNF since the 2023 United States Grand Prix has raised lots of questions, given his race-ending crash was not his only error at the 2025 Azerbaijan GP. Jacques Villeneuve feels Piastri could not handle the pressure in Baku and is modifying his driving style to cope.

Juan Pablo Montoya feels Piastri is now starting to second-guess himself and try to prove to himself for the first time that he has not taken his foot off the gas after opening a large lead in the standings, too. Montoya believes that mindset was why Piastri crashed twice in Baku.

Additionally, Gary Anderson feels Piastri’s crashes in Baku indicated he shares his fear about McLaren potentially taking their “eye off the ball” after such a strong season. McLaren could have won the 2025 F1 constructors’ title in record-breaking time with a cleaner race in Baku.

But a costly crash in qualifying and a race-ending crash in the Azerbaijan GP might now help Piastri to refocus, as 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours overall winner Brabham thinks can be the case. The 24-year-old has never had back-to-back DNFs in his single-seater career, not just in F1.