(Motorsports news) In the Italian Grand Prix, Hamilton made a rare mistake when he accidentally locked wheels with Oscar Piastri during their struggle for position at the second chicane. Hamilton received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision as a result of the incident, which also damaged Piastri’s front wing and sent him to the pits for a replacement.
After initially being unsure of how the collision occurred, Hamilton went on the team radio to clarify that Piastri had been in his blind spot on the approach to the corner. But when Hamilton realized his error after seeing what transpired after the race, he made a quick effort to apologize to Piastri.
Among the crop of current F1 drivers, Wolff felt that Hamilton’s maturity in being able to admit mistakes was a quality that stood out. After the Italian GP, Wolff remarked, “He’s very sportsmanlike with these things, and he is the only one out there admitting and saying: ‘I got this wrong’.”
“It was a mistake,” he said. “I believe the menu specifies a five-second penalty for that. These things do occur. If you want to pass someone here, it’s difficult racing, and we’ve seen a few of these. Therefore, it is justified. Hamilton acknowledged that once he realized his error, apologizing came naturally to him.
It was clearly my responsibility, so I apologized, he said. Naturally, it wasn’t done on purpose. I just underestimated the spacing I had to the right when I stood up next to him and clipped him. “It may happen at any time, but I soon realized it had to be my fault. I therefore wanted to make sure that he understood that it was unintentional. I assume that’s what gentlemen do.
After the race, Piastri declared that he had accepted Hamilton’s apologies. The Australian said, “I think Hamilton just moved a bit too far to the right.” But in that corner, I believe it’s really simple to do. It is quite small. There isn’t much more to it, in my opinion, than the fact that he came and apologized.
