Piastri reflects on “very messy day” after rare FP2 error

Oscar Piastri’s “very messy” Friday in Monte Carlo was a true exercise in risk and reward, with the Australian recovering from a rare personal error at Sainte Devote to end the first day of the Monaco Grand Prix second fastest overall.

No stranger to success around the demanding streets of Monte Carlo, Piastri got his Monaco Grand Prix campaign underway in FP1. 

Commencing the first hour of practice on the softest compound, the McLaren driver quickly found his way into P3 on the timesheets before his progress came to a pause, with the first Red Flag of the weekend suspending the action after Charles Leclerc and Lance Stroll collided on approach to the Turn 6 hairpin. 

The session resumed after a five-minute delay, with the Australian instantly picking up the pace and briefly going quickest with a 1:13.821s — edging ahead of teammate Lando Norris by just five milliseconds.

As others improved, Piastri switched to the medium tyre and continued his run, but his session took a turn when he radioed the McLaren pit wall with the dreaded words: “I hit the wall.” 

Fortunately, damage was minimal and after a quick checkover in the garage, he was cleared to rejoin the track.

Putting the scare behind him, Piastri wrapped up the hour in solid form, ending FP1 fifth overall with a time of 1:12.342s — just 0.052s adrift of Norris and under four-tenths off Leclerc’s leading benchmark.

“I think just the whole day’s been a bit up and down,” said Piastri

“I think when we get everything together the pace is quite good, it’s just not proving that easy to do at the moment.”

Piastri took a measured approach as he started Free Practice 2, watching and waiting as his competitors streamed out of the pitlane before joining the circuit on the medium compound tyre.

His first flying lap around the 3.3km Monaco layout was a strong opener, clocking in at 1:13.068s to go second fastest once the field had completed initial runs — but while the Australian looked comfortable early, it wouldn’t be a seamless session.

After a brief Red Flag interruption, Piastri returned with renewed pace, piecing together purple sectors through the middle and final thirds of the lap to set a new benchmark, however, just as he found his rhythm, he fell victim to the Monte Carlo constraints, making an uncharacteristic error that sent him into the barriers at Sainte Devote.

Carrying too much speed into the first corner, Piastri locked up and had no chance of making the run-off, instead sliding nose-first into the wall and shearing off his front wing. 

The crash — common in Monaco, but rare for the typically tidy Aussie — brought out another Red Flag and forced McLaren into a swift repair job.

“Some things to look at, I think especially for myself, it’s been a very messy day,” Piastri said.

“Just try and rest a bit tomorrow, but I think the pace in the car is there.”

Within minutes, Piastri was back on track with a new front wing and the softest C6 tyres bolted on. 

He quickly climbed to P4 and then P3, splitting the Ferraris after lapping just 0.038s slower than the benchmark-holding hometown hero, Charles Leclerc.

As the chequered flag was waved to end Friday’s running, Piastri had not only recovered from the mistake but ended the day in second fastest, a promising position heading into the final hour of practice and a heavily weighted Qualifying.

Free Practice 3 will kick off at 20:30 AEST, followed by Qualifying at 00:00 AEST.

Image: Formula 1

2025 Monaco Grand Prix Schedule (AEST):

Friday, May 23:

FP1: 21:30 – 22:30

Saturday, May 24:

FP2: 01:00 – 02:00

FP3: 20:30 – 21:30

Sunday, May 25:

Quali: 00:00 – 01:00

Race: 23:00

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