Just days removed from one of the most crushing moments in his Formula 1 career, Oscar Piastri says he is only focused on the future.

In front of a mammoth crowd at Albert Park, Oscar Piastri crashed his McLaren on the lap to the grid and did not start the Australian Grand Prix last weekend.

The Melbourne-born driver, who finished third in the F1 drivers’ championship last season, got onto the kerbs with cold tyres and then had a sudden power surge to his rear wheels, which sent him spinning into the wall.

It was the latest incident in a run of bad luck for Piastri, who at one stage led last year’s championship by 34 points before suffering a form slump in the final third of the season.

But Piastri has said his eyes are on the future, and they need to be, with round two of the championship already upon him in China.

Speaking ahead of the weekend, Piastri said he was able to quickly move on from the disappointment of not being able to start his home grand prix.

“It was relatively quick to put that behind me. Obviously, it’s one I try to forget,” he said.

“I think having a race this weekend is always nice and there’s still plenty to focus on.”

McLaren is the reigning constructors’ champion, while Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris is the reigning drivers’ champion.

F1 fans have seen the new era in all its chaotic and thrilling glory

Formula 1’s new era began with a dramatic, chaotic, and compelling grand prix in Melbourne. While views on the regulations are mixed, fans will likely decide if it is a success or failure.

But with a new era of regulations for 2026, round one in Melbourne showed McLaren is behind rivals Mercedes and Ferrari.

Teams and drivers are still learning about the new cars, which are very different to last season’s, with power units producing more electrical power and the aerodynamics producing less downforce.

Piastri missed out on vital experience last Sunday by not starting the Australian Grand Prix, but still believes there were positives to take from the weekend.

Piastri was the quickest driver during practice on Friday, and qualified fifth-fastest for the grand prix he never started.

Piastri won the Chinese Grand Prix last season, his first of seven grand prix triumphs in 2025, but he is not expecting McLaren to be challenging for a race win this weekend in Shanghai.

Russell wins in Melbourne as Piastri crashes before start of home race

Mercedes has made the perfect start to the new Formula 1 season, while crowd favourite Oscar Piastri crashed before his home grand prix even began.

“There was still plenty to try and learn from all the running we did in Melbourne, and even just for me, trying to understand what racing looks like now was interesting to watch at least,” he said. 

“I’m not expecting [this weekend] to be dramatically different to Melbourne.

“I think we learned, after qualifying especially and in the days since, that we didn’t necessarily optimise what we had in Melbourne.

“Throughout practice, the picture looked a lot more optimistic — I think overly optimistic at points — but it was a surprise for us to lose so much competitiveness from Friday to Saturday.

“I think we’ve got a pretty good understanding of why now, so I think we can get closer. We still think we’re going to have a deficit to Mercedes, but I think we identified a lot of things we can do better.”

ABC Sport will have live blog coverage of the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, March 15, from 4pm AEDT.

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