Explained: Why Piastri isn’t starting in the pit lane despite new chassis

Oscar Piastri has taken a new chassis after his Baku crash, but avoided a pit lane start as McLaren fitted the same spec parts and didn’t make any setup changes to the car.

Piastri crashed out of qualifying on Saturday, bringing out the sixth and final red flag in a qualifying session that lasted just short of two hours.

Oscar Piastri has avoided a pit lane start in Baku

With just four minutes remaining on the clock in Q3, Piastri was pushing hard on a flying lap when he crashed into the Turn 3 wall.

Damaging the front end of his MCL39, McLaren changed his chassis overnight.

Piastri, though, was able to retain his P9 starting position on the grid due Articles 27.1 and 40.2.j.

Article 27.1 states that teams can use more than two cars when “a car has suffered genuine accident damage, as specified in Article 40.2 g) or has suffered a significant failure or fault as demonstrated to the Technical Delegate, accepted by the Technical Delegate as necessitating a change of survival cell.”

The team then has to provide a “written request to the FIA to change the survival cell, and this has been approved by the Technical Delegate.”

But to avoid a grid penalty, Article 40.2.j comes into play. That reads: “All components of the replacement car must be the same in design and similar in mass, inertia, and function to the original car. The set-up of the suspension must be the same.”

McLaren confirmed to PlanetF1.com’s Mat Coch that it had adhered to those regulations.

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Meanwhile, the FIA revealed that McLaren had “submitted the duly completed scrutineering declaration form for car number 81 after a survival change.”

Piastri will line up ninth on the grid, two places down on his teammate and title rival Norris, uncertain of what awaits him in Sunday’s 51 lap grand prix.

“I mean, also not many people have done long runs this weekend, so the strategy is kind of up in the air a little bit,” he explained. “That gives us opportunities. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Franco Colapinto also has a new chassis for the grand prix after his crash, and he too will line up in his grid slot of P16.

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