Oscar Piastri shares Lewis Hamilton interaction after 2023 Monza GP collision

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Oscar Piastri has revealed what F1 rival Lewis Hamilton did when they came together during last year’s Italian Grand Prix.

Hamilton and Piastri collided during the closing stages of the race in Monza.

And speaking on the Beyond The Grid podcast, McLaren driver Piastri shared his recollections of the incident.

Hamilton was looking to execute a move on the rookie heading into the second chicane.

Thinking he was already clear, he moved over to the right-hand side of the circuit but Piastri was still there.

The Australian suffered damage to the left end-plate of his front wing as they made contact.

He subsequently had to pit for repairs, which caused him to drop from ninth to well outside the points.

The seven-time world champion received a five-second time penalty after the stewards decided he was at fault.

Oscar Piastri praises how Lewis Hamilton handled crashes

This isn’t the only incident between Piastri and Hamilton to date, with the pair also touching in Las Vegas.

Again, it was Hamilton looking to overtake, but this time both drivers sustained damage.

They each suffered a puncture as the Briton tried to slip down the inside heading onto the longest DRS straight.

Piastri feels that they were both equally to blame that time, but says Hamilton was gracious after his lapse in Italy.

He says the 39-year-old shows him more ‘respect’ than some of his other competitors would.

He said: “The couple of times Lewis and I have had incidents, he’s been very good.

“The one in Monza, he came up to me straight away and shook my hand and said ‘sorry’, which you don’t get from everyone on the grid.

“The one in Vegas was a bit of a 50/50, but we spoke about it and we certainly weren’t angry or p- off with each other.

“We just spoke about it, what we were trying to do and why it went wrong.

“From that side of things, he’s been cool to talk to and you certainly don’t get that kind of respect or discussion with other people.”

Piastri and Hamilton both have sights set on Red Bull

Piastri and Hamilton have met on track in both of the first two races this season.

In Bahrain, the veteran finished ahead as Mercedes successfully executed an undercut in the pit stop phase.

And then, in Saudi Arabia, Hamilton put up a ‘defensive masterclass’, in the words of Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok, to keep his rival behind.

Piastri was on faster tyres at the time because, unlike the 103-time race winner, he’d pitted during an earlier safety car period.

Hamilton was able to keep him at bay, though, as he utilised Mercedes’ superior straight-line speed to make up for their limitations in high-speed corners.

Piastri ultimately finished five spots ahead after Hamilton made a late stop.

Both drivers are part of the pack aiming to close up on Max Verstappen and Red Bull this season.

The 22-year-old, who followed in Hamilton’s footsteps by starting his F1 career at McLaren, has scored twice as many points so far (16 vs eight).

Piastri will race on home soil this weekend and is gunning for a first podium of the season.