Piastri Reveals Monza Team Orders’ Role in Baku « Worst Weekend »

Oscar Piastri has provided a candid explanation for his disastrous performance at the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, a weekend he has labeled the « worst » of his competitive career. The McLaren driver revealed that the controversial team orders from the preceding Italian Grand Prix at Monza were a significant contributing factor to the series of errors that unraveled his weekend in Baku and marked a turning point in his championship campaign. (1,2)

A Weekend to Forget in Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was a calamitous event for Piastri from the outset. His troubles began with a reliability issue during practice, which immediately put him on the back foot. The situation deteriorated further when he suffered a costly crash during qualifying, leaving him to start the race from ninth on the grid. A botched start then saw the Australian shuffled to the back of the field on the opening lap. In a desperate attempt to recover lost ground, Piastri crashed out just half a lap later, ending his race prematurely and capping off a weekend marred by unforced errors. (1)

The Lingering Shadow of Monza

Speaking on Formula 1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, Piastri admitted that the events of the previous race at Monza were still fresh in his mind. At the Italian Grand Prix, Piastri, who was leading the championship at the time, was instructed by McLaren to swap positions with his teammate Lando Norris. The order came after a pitstop mix-up where a delay for Norris saw him emerge behind Piastri. While Piastri complied, he questioned the decision over the team radio, suggesting it was a change from the previous understanding that « a slow pitstop was part of racing. » 3 Although he publicly stated the call was « fair » at the time, he has now conceded the incident was unsettling and played a role in his subsequent struggles. (2)

« Ultimately [it’s] a combination of quite a few things, » Piastri explained. « Obviously, the race before that was Monza, which I didn’t feel was a particularly great weekend from my own performance and there was obviously what happened with the pitstops. I think there was kind of some things in the lead-up, let’s say, that were maybe not the most helpful. » (1)

The « Perfect Storm »

Piastri described the Baku weekend as a « perfect storm » of circumstances. Beyond the lingering thoughts of Monza, he pointed to an engine problem in FP1 that « unsettled things, » his own admission of « overdriving, » and the challenge of adapting to Pirelli’s notoriously tricky C6 soft compound tyres. This confluence of technical setbacks, mental pressure, and on-track difficulties created an environment where mistakes were almost inevitable. (1,3)

« There’s no beating around the bush, that was the worst weekend I’ve ever had in racing, but probably the most useful in some ways, » Piastri reflected. He acknowledged that such disastrous weekends happen to everyone in motorsport and that the key is to learn from them. (2)

Championship Ramifications

The Baku debacle proved to be a significant turning point in the 2025 championship fight. Before Monza, Piastri held a comfortable 44-point lead over Norris. However, the pointless weekend in Azerbaijan kickstarted a slump in form for the Australian. In the subsequent races, Norris has consistently outperformed his teammate, erasing the deficit and building a 24-point lead of his own with just three races remaining in the season. Piastri has not secured a victory since the Dutch Grand Prix, the race immediately preceding the Monza team orders controversy. (3)

While the weekend in Baku was a low point, Piastri is focused on the lessons learned. His candid reflection offers a rare insight into the psychological pressures at the pinnacle of motorsport, where a single contentious decision can have a cascading effect on a driver’s performance and championship aspirations.

References

[1] Motorsport.com: Oscar Piastri: Baku F1 was the « worst weekend I had in racing »

[2] ESPN: Oscar Piastri: McLaren’s Monza orders played role in Baku crashes

[3] The Race: Piastri admits McLaren’s Monza orders were in his mind as slump began