Oscar Piastri’s chances of claiming the Spanish Grand Prix were all but over after just one lap, as the Aussie battled damage to his front wing after an early collision.

Piastri’s difficult 2026 didn’t improve at the Madring, making contact with George Russell in the opening moments of the race, and then again at the first corner after beginning in seventh.

Reflecting post-race, the Australian said he had been “expecting more space” – that never eventuated.

“I was alongside, and he just kept squeezing me to the wall,” he said.

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“Then I hit the brakes and kind of avoided him. But amongst all that, he hit the brakes as well.

“Everyone hit the brakes, and we kind of got stuck together and everything.

“I was just expecting a bit more space, and obviously between a car and a wall, you can’t make any more space.

“So that was tricky.”

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His frustration only grew as McLaren opted to keep him on the track, eventually reaching boiling point with a tense exchange with his team on radio during the 28th lap.

“Are we fixing the front wing or not?” Piastri asked.

“Oscar, we can add three holes without the time loss of fixing it,” his engineer replied.

“Okay, well yes, but tell me if you’re going to fix it next time,” the Australian finished.

Piastri was later seen giving a sarcastic “thumbs-up” to his wing as the fix was applied.

The move has become a signature of the 25-year old’s throughout a difficult 2026, having handed one to Lewis Hamilton after an incident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Piastri’s woes compounded later in the race, as a poorly timed final pit stop with 15 laps to go saw him passed by Arvid Lindblad, Franco Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto.

“He’s not had a great weekend and he’s not having a great afternoon,” Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle said.

“The traffic has really hurt Piastri.”

Having fallen to 11th, he’d make a slight recovery to overtake Lindblad and finish eighth, but it was still his worst finish since coming in 11th at the Canadian Grand Prix in May.

“It was pretty painful, obviously from lap one,” Piastri said post-race.

“It was just a tough afternoon from literally the start. From then on, the rest of the race was very compromised, obviously with some of the damage and the track position mainly.

“Not much I really could have done from that first lap, having damage for the whole race.”

Making matters worse, Piastri was warned by the FIA for exceeding track limits, with the front wing damage making handling tough.

He was deemed to be cutting corners, even hitting the wall at one point mid-race.

“On a track like this, you’re always searching for a bit of clean air in the high-speed corners,” he said.

“With no kerb or wall on the inside of some of the corners, it’s very easy to just go a little bit too far.”