Why Oscar Piastri's crash is a bigger problem for McLaren than it seems

Oscar got the blame. McLaren may deserve more of it. The biggest question coming out of last weekend's St Kilda F1 race is: what really happened to Oscar Piastri? The second biggest question is: was Mercedes sandbagging? The easy answer is yes. The Mercs are the hottest cars since the 2023 Red Bulls (Mad Max and Pero won 21 out of 22 races).

Hometown heartbreak, corporate clean-up

The issue is not simply that Richmond supporter, Oscar Jack Piastri, 24, of Monte Carlo (a much-preferred tax haven since February 28) crashed before his home grand prix had even properly started. It is that, once again, the Australian ended up wearing the public embarrassment while the broader McLaren mess got tidied away into corporate language and driver self-criticism.

Yes, OJ hit the wall on the initial lap drivers take from the pit lane to their starting grid to check car systems and test track conditions while conducting a final check. Yes, he admitted there was a driver element in it – cold tyres, a kerb he did not need to use, and a moment that spiralled.

But that's not the whole story and it is probably not even the most interesting bit of it.

The 100kW question

Piastri also said he got about 100kW more power than he had seen all weekend right as he changed gear, which triggered wheel spin and sent him into the wall. He was pretty clear: "Things like that shouldn't be happening anywhere, especially at my home race." That is not some desperate kid searching for excuses. That is a driver telling you the car did something ugly at exactly the wrong time.

But wait, there's more.

Post-race reporting on the team radio revealed Piastri had just told McLaren his battery was "completely empty already" before the crash, only to then get the surprise big hit of power moments later. It doesn't automatically prove a single neat mechanical failure, but it absolutely strengthens the argument that this was not just Oscar throwing away his home race because he got overexcited in front of the locals. Something in the very new complex system appears to have been out of sorts.

The Lando problem

Which brings to what real racers, current and past say, because this is where it gets awkward.

Last year the team spent months insisting it treated OJ and Leaping Lando Norris equally during Norris's title tilt. Officially, that was always the line. Unofficially, plenty in Formula 1 thought otherwise. Former Alpine executive Marcin Budkowski said there may have been an "unconscious bias" towards Norris. The translation is simple enough: when the pressure was on, McLaren had a habit of leaning towards the British driver with the championship narrative attached to him.

Now, before the McLaren social media unit starts fainting into its reusable coffee cups, there is no hard evidence of some anti-Oscar plot. McLaren has denied any favouritism and even Piastri's father publicly pushed back on the idea of deliberate bias. Fine. But Formula 1 is built on perception almost as much as engineering, and the perception remains that when McLaren gets twitchy, Oscar somehow ends up holding the short end.

A burp, apparently

Melbourne only made that look worse.

Zak Brown reportedly described the whole thing as a "disappointing burp", which is one way to describe your local star destroying his car before the race starts. Meanwhile, the team still looked off the pace, with Norris finishing fifth and later admitting McLaren had work to do against Mercedes, Ferrari and probably Red Bull too.

So, this was not a case of one rogue driver stuffing up a dominant car. McLaren itself looked underdone, underwhelming and oddly fragile.

And that's the real sting for OJ. The danger is not just that he lost points. It is that he became the face of a failure that was bigger than him.

Battery babysitting and blame shifting

These new 2026 cars are producing bizarre torque delivery, battery-management chaos and enough driver complaints to fill a small royal commission. Leaping Lando has said the new rules are "chaos" and warned of a major prang. My bet is there will be one at what passes for a start soon. Other drivers have called the overtaking artificial, the workload absurd and the whole thing too dependent on battery state rather than old-fashioned racing skill. Piastri just happened to be the bloke who copped one of the nastiest early examples in front of his home crowd.

Of course, along with Mad Max who was more direct in his comments when the new tech caused his car to hit the wall.

So, yes, Oscar made a mistake. But only a fool – or a McLaren spin doctor – would stop the analysis there.

The bloke left carrying the can

Melbourne did not prove the McLaren bias. What it did prove is that OJ remains the bloke most likely to take the blame when the team, the systems and the sport's new battery-babysitting absurdities all combine to produce a mess.

And in other automotive fire news …

Two weeks ago, we told you the story of Victorian reader SG who was stung for $3000 because a recalled fuel tank in the US was different to an Australian – despite having the same part number.

Well BMW is still ignoring Mr G. despite the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts issuing a recall for 24,000 BMWs because the cars could catch fire. Guess what? Last Saturday the same Department issued another recall for more Beemers because: "The airconditioning wiring harness (on lots of expensive BMWs) may become damaged during routine microfilter (cabin air filter) replacement. This may cause an internal short circuit, which could lead the sensor to overheat. This could pose a risk of smoke entering the cabin or a vehicle fire while driving."

Well done by the motorists' friend, Minister Cath King. And we'll keep going while Beemer CEO Vikram Pawah and his merry team at Mulgrave (home of the mighty Hawks) keep ignoring Mr G.