Oscar Piastri dealt 'brutal' verdict after home crash embarrassment

Former F1 driver Martin Brundle has described Oscar Piastri's crash on his way to the Australian Grand Prix grid as "brutal", especially in front of his home crowd.

The only Australian driver in F1 crashed out of his home event on the sighting lap, as a result of a power spike, cold tyres, and running onto the kerb.

Piastri's McLaren spun on the exit of Turn 4 and crashed into the barrier, putting him out of the race before it had even started.

It was a horrible way for Piastri to start the new season, with Brundle feeling the 24-year-old's pain, having previously done something similar.

In his Sky Sports column, Brundle wrote: "At McLaren they were already down to one car even before the start when Oscar Piastri dropped his car into the barriers when he was caught out by a combination of cool tyres, a power spike, and riding a kerb all at the same time. 

"That was brutal for him and [in front of] many in the crowd at his home GP. We've all done something like that, either going to the grid (I similarly smashed a brand new Tyrrell up in Imola in the mid 80s) or entering the pit lane or suchlike. I felt for him."

Piastri had been set to start the race from fifth on the grid; however, his slot remained empty next to Lando Norris in sixth.

Norris struggled for pace for much of the race, although he did find a way to improve his lap time and remain ahead of Max Verstappen.

However, what was clear in Australia is that McLaren finds itself fourth in the pecking order, with Brundle believing it needs an upgrade quickly.

"Lando Norris in the sister McLaren had relatively poor pace for half the race but, together with his team, was finding chunks of time with different battery power harvesting and deployment, and was flying along nicely at the end, albeit with fresher tyres than the four ahead of him. 

"McLaren will increase competitiveness quickly when they can understand the power unit functions and potential as fully as the Mercedes works team supplier. 

"They need an aero upgrade too."