Aussie drivers can’t seem to catch a break in their home grand prix, with young guns Oscar Piastri and Jack Doohan both having weekends to forget in Melbourne.
Back to its rightful place on the F1 calendar, the Australian Grand Prix didn’t disappoint one bit, delivering excitement up and down the grid. With showers blanketing Melbourne for much of the race, the already tricky Albert Park Circuit was made even more challenging by the damp conditions.
One of the many drivers caught out by the rain was Oscar Piastri. Before a careless mistake sent him off the road and into the grass ahead of turn 14, Piastri was comfortably in the podium places. But even with the odds stacked against him, Piastri never gave up. The determined young driver managed to nurse his McLaren back onto the track in front of a jubilant home crowd to continue the race. Having plummeted down the field into 15th, Piastri shot into the pits for intermediates and clawed his way back up to 9th on the last lap. The McLaren driver came home with two championship points for his trouble.
A dejected and understandably disappointed Piastri owned up to his careless mistake during his post-race interview with Liberty Media, saying that he pushed a little too hard in the tricky conditions.
Piastri and his McLaren teammate Lando Norris were the ones to beat heading into Sunday’s big race, with the papaya pair showcasing their speed on Saturday. Neck and neck for much of the session, Norris snatched pole position from the Australian’s hands in the dying seconds of Q3, robbing him and the home crowd of a fairytale result.
With just a week until round two in China, Piastri doesn’t have to wait long for retribution.
Oscar wasn’t the only Aussie who found Albert Parks’ slippery surface too much to handle.
For Alpine debutant Jack Doohan, the race was over as soon as it started, literally.
The fresh faced Aussie had a lot on his mind heading into the season opener.
With rumours swirling around his future in the sport, Doohan has just a handful of races to impress his Alpine superiors.
The rookie’s performance on Sunday won’t do him any justice unfortunately. Applying too much throttle out of turn 14, the damp circuit well and truly caught Doohan lacking. In an era when results are all that matter, vulnerable drivers like Doohan can’t afford to make careless mistakes.
As reserve driver and would-be seat filler Franco Collapinto waits idly in the wings, Doohan must do what he can with what little time he has left in the sport.
