Overview

• Oscar Piastri jumped the start, halted, fell to last, then locked up and hit the Turn 6 wall on lap one, triggering a Safety Car period to lap four.
• The retirement snaps Piastri’s run of 34 consecutive points finishes, a streak topped only by Lewis Hamilton (48) and Max Verstappen (43).
• Saturday’s qualifying missteps set the tone as Piastri crashed in Q3 and recorded no time for P9, while Lando Norris’s decision to run first left him only P7.
• Norris conceded the Q3 tactic was a mistake because later runners found more grip, and Piastri said he “tried too much” despite feeling strong pace in the car.
• Max Verstappen secured pole ahead of Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson, and with Piastri out, McLaren’s chance to seal the constructors’ title in Baku was described as unlikely as Norris looks to cut his teammate’s 31-point lead.