Oscar Piastri has gone viral on social media after sharing a hilarious post mocking his own nightmare start to the Formula One season.
The Australian, 24, crashed before the race in Melbourne, and then him and McLaren teammate Lando Norris failed to start the Chinese Grand Prix last weekend.
It means Piastri heads to the third race in Japan without having successfully completed a single lap in 2026.
But he managed to see the funny side of his misfortune on Friday morning when he shared a series of pictures on X.
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The images included one of him alone in the gym, while he also posted a snap of him with his dog, and one of Piastri fans wearing a mask of his face.
Piastri nailed the caption on the post, writing: “Two weeks of watching F1.”
And F1 fans responded by offering their support to the Aussie driver as he bids to return to form at the Suzuka Circuit.
A.V Nurdariga said: “It’s a pity that you couldn’t participate in the race. But let’s hope that the team will be able to normalise the car before the Japanese Grand Prix, and you will be able to take pole!”
While Nitin Saxena added: “Lets go Oscar, you deserve more!”
Malena replied: “You’re so funny. Lets just not make it three, okay?”
And Luckie Steve said: “We’re all just pretending the season starts in Japan tbh.”
Piastri finished third in last year’s Drivers’ Championship, 13 points adrift of teammate Lando Norris and 11 behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
But it is Mercedes that have made a huge statement in the opening two races of 2026, securing one-two finishes in both as George Russell and Kimi Antonelli steal a march on the rest of the field.
Despite watching on for the second straight race, Piastri had a wry smile on his face as he spoke to the media as the China Grand Prix got underway.
He said he was not aware of the issue until he “got out of the car”.
“It’s an electrical issue on the PU side. It’s disappointing,” Piastri said.
Piastri was clearly distracted when interviewed during the race, trying to look over his shoulder to watch the race unfold on a nearby TV screen inside the F1 pit lane paddock.
“It’s been a while since I’ve watched two F1 races from the sideline. The Ferrari’s look pretty quick at the moment, so we’ll see how long that laughs for.”
