Piastri, moments before his Austalian Grand Prix disaster. [Credits: X/ Formula 1]

2025 Australian GP Results – Oscar Piastri, Jack Doohan Fall Victim to the Australian Grand Prix Curse!

Oscar Piastri and Jack Doohan could not escape from the clutches of the Curse

Piastri, moments before his Austalian Grand Prix disaster. [Credits: X/ Formula 1]

Oscar Piastri started the race second on the grid. He was in a good position considering his performance last season from the front of the grid. Piastri was visibly competitive as he kept fighting Lando Norris for the race win.

At one point, Piastri was debating with the McLaren pit wall on his actions. “I’m faster but OK“, was his response to the team when he was asked to hold on and not race Lando too hard. But it seems like the rain gods were not in favour of Piastri. On lap 44, with 13 laps to go for the end of the race, Piastri spun out at Turn 6 dropping to dead last on the grid.

He was stuck in the grass, unable to get his car going. At one point, it felt like everything was over for Piastri. The driver was initially counted as a favorite for winning the race at Melbourne. But, one mistake cost him his entire race. Piastri spent the rest of the race scourging for points, in a McLaren which was bound to win a double podium finish.

A late dive on Lewis Hamilton helped him over take the seven-time champion to get a meager increase in points. The F1 commentators even commented, that the nature of this overtake arose from frustration and it was “not a respectful” move on Hamilton.

Oscar Piastri and Jack Doohan Succumb to The Curse

Formula 1 might be the pinnacle of innovation and the most acclaimed racing series. But even the 20 best drivers of the world are prone to some superstitions. One of them, is the curse of the Australian Grand Prix. Now, any person in their sane mind would think, “How can a race be cursed?”. It’s just a matter of talent, right? But sometimes, coincidences string together to form a believable superstition.

Where it all went wrong for home-hero @OscarPiastri 😱#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/SDC1vkbyPU
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 16, 2025

Take the Australian Grand Prix as an example, Oscar Piastri who was once a prospective race winner at home ended up spinning in the last stage of the race. Similarly, Jack Doohan, who was faring well against his fellow rookies during qualifying, ended up crashing out and ending his race prematurely. Both of the Australian drivers, ended up disappointing themselves and the team with a race, they would want to forget.

What is the Australian Grand Prix Curse?

The Australian Grand Prix curse refers to the unfortunate situations faced by Australian drivers in the past seasons at their home race. There have been 19 Australian drivers in Formula 1. Some of them were extraordinary talents like- Daniel Ricciardo, Jack Brabham, Oscar Piastri, Mark Webber. But, to their despair, none of them have managed to claim a victory at their home turf.

Piastri could not even finish the Australian GP in 2023. Daniel Ricciardo has only finished five Australian GPs in points. Even the phenomenal Mark Webber has never received a podium at Australian GP in his career.

Now for some of the people, these coincidences don’t matter. But unless and until an Australian driver managed to overturn this unfortunate fate and wins an Australian Grand Prix, we can never know.

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.