Italian GP: Lewis Hamiton started in 8th at the Italian GP, his worst qualifying at the track in a long time. Oscar Piastri started just ahead of him in 7th. On lap 41, the Mercedes and McLaren drivers made contact as they came out of Curva Grande into turn 3.
What Happened?
Mercedes gave Lewis Hamilton an alternative tyre strategy to the rest of the frontrunners. He started on the hard tyres at the Italian GP, while others started on mediums. After the first round of pitstops, this put Lewis Hamilton on fresher mediums compared to others on older hards.
As Alex Albon continued to thwart both the McLaren drivers, Lewis Hamilton caught up to them. Importantly, he didn’t have to use his tyres much, therefore giving him a huge tyre delta. On Lap 41, he made a move on Oscar Piastri at Turn 1.
While that move wasn’t successful on its own, Lewis Hamilton got an excellent exit into Turn 2 and towards Turn 3. Just as he was about to turn, he shifted to the right, not realizing Oscar Piastri was still there.
This caused contact between them. It didn’t hurt Lewis Hamilton much. But Oscar Piastri suffered front wing damage and had to box at the end of that lap, ruining his race.
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What did they have to say?
The Stewards gave a 5-second time penalty to Lewis Hamilton for this incident. It didn’t affect the Mercedes star much because he pulled a 7-second gap to Alex Albon before the chequered flag. However, after the race, he went and apologized to Oscar Piastri for the incident.
Lewis Hamilton took full responsibility for this incident after the race. He agreed he should’ve left more space for Piastri. Oscar Piastri was disappointed but was content with the apology from Hamilton and the penalty by the stewards. He also opined it is very easy to make the mistake Hamilton did.
In an Italian GP full of great racing and incidents, this was probably the most disastrous of them all. However, with the apology be Lewis Hamilton, it seems like all the water is under the bridge now.
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