SÃO PAULO — Oscar Piastri dramatically crashed out of Saturday’s Interlagos sprint race to hand further championship initiative to rival and teammate Lando Norris.
Piastri was running third, behind Norris and Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli, on a damp track when he lost control of the car all on his own and spun into the barrier on the exit of Turn 3.
Piastri was not the only driver caught out — Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto also spun coming through the same corner moments afterwards. Colapinto’s impact destroyed part of the barrier, meaning the session was red flagged so it could be repaired.
A radio message from Antonelli to Mercedes suggested Norris had run slightly wide at a kerb coming through the opening sequence of corners, something which dispersed standing water onto the race track.
The crash is another setback for the Australian, who appeared at one point in September to have one hand on the title — he saw a 15-race run as championship leader end two weeks ago when Norris won the Mexican Grand Prix. Norris, who led away comfortably from pole, now heads the championship by a single point.
The sprint race must run at 50 percent of the allocated time for points to be awarded — the red flag was called on lap eight of 24. It gives Norris a golden chance to extend his lead over Piastri by another eight points — the maximum on offer for the sprint.
Championship outsider Max Verstappen was fourth at the time of the red flag, which would give him four points as it stands.
Piastri had 34 points over Norris when he won the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of October, a race which saw his McLaren teammate retire late on with car trouble.
Piastri has not won a race since.
His third-place finish at the next race at Monza was the last time he finished a race on the podium, highlighting just how badly his form has spiralled since.
