Jolyon Palmer notices something strange in Oscar Piastri onboard after Azerbaijan Grand Prix crash

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Oscar Piastri crashed out of qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday. The championship leader will start no higher than ninth after the Q3 shunt.

He wasn’t the only big-name driver to find the barriers, with Charles Leclerc bringing out the red flags first. Pushing after the session resumed, Piastri slammed into the wall at turn three and caused another stoppage.

The main consolation for the Australian is that he only starts two spots behind title rival Lando Norris. Norris missed an opportunity to capitalise on a slippery track at the end of Q3.

Still, Piastri will have to review a highly uncharacteristic error, with the pressure now starting to increase. He’d been virtually faultless all season.

Jolyon Palmer questions if Oscar Piastri had brake issue after Baku crash

Reviewing the replay of Piastri’s crash on the F1TV feed, Jolyon Palmer was mystified. His initial verdict was that he carried ‘way too much’ speed into the corner.

Ordinarily, one would expect a driver to have a ‘big, smoky lock-up’ in that situation, or attempt to bail out. But this looked like a complete misjudgement from Piastri.

Palmer even pondered whether there was a brake issue on car 81. Piastri had been on the front two rows in every single qualifying session this season, including Sprints.

“He just didn’t find the grip,” Palmer said. “[He] hit the brakes, doesn’t bail out of it at all. He hasn’t hit the brakes hard enough. There’s no deceleration, there’s no big lock-up, he’s carrying way too much entry speed, and off he goes into the barriers.

“It’s like he’s just not hammered on the brakes hard enough, or he’s just braked way too late, but you’d expect a big, smoky lock-up. He’s just carrying the speed. Maybe a brake issue at that point for him to be so far wrong?”

Did Helmut Marko speak too soon about Lando Norris?

With Carlos Sainz (second), Liam Lawson (third) and Isack Hadjar (eighth) out of position ahead of him, Piastri can still target a podium in Sunday’s race. And if the chaos of Saturday is repeated, a win isn’t out of the question either.

Before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, Red Bull’s Helmut Marko backed Piastri for the title because he has a ‘cooler head’ than Norris. This was exactly the kind of situation where he usually showcases that strength.

Many paddock insiders have written Norris off already, reflecting their confidence in Piastri. After McLaren’s worst qualifying of the year, Sunday’s race feels especially important in the course of the title fight.

Piastri won this race last year after producing one of the overtakes of the season on Leclerc.