Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he apologised to Oscar Piastri for the clash which cost the Australian a certain points finish.

Having already lost out to teammate Lando Norris following McLaren's decision to allow the Briton to undercut his teammate, Piastri was subsequently hit by Hamilton as they battled for eighth.

Having started the race on hards, following the pit stops, while the majority of the field was now on the white-banded rubber, the Mercedes driver was on mediums.

With his better pace, the seven-time world champion made a move on the McLaren at the second chicane, but misjudged it and hit the Australian's car, damaging its front wing in the process.

The resultant pit stop dropped Piastri to 14th, though he made his way up to eleventh by race end.

The stewards deemed that Hamilton had moved to the right in the braking zone and made contact with Piastri while the Australian was moving to the right away from him and was close to the side of the track. As a result the Briton was handed a 5s time penalty, nonetheless he finished in the points.

"I cleared Alonso immediately after the stop," explained Hamilton, "which opened things up and let me close them down, but the incident with Piastri was just unfortunate. I misjudged the gap that I had and it was totally my fault, and I went and apologised to him straight after.

"Every point and position that we are getting through these races are incredibly hard-fought," he admitted. "We started on the hard tyre today and it was nice to be offset but difficult at the beginning and not so easy to follow in the DRS train.

"I spent a lot of laps following the McLarens, so I knew that I had slightly more pace than them in the first stint, and hoped I could get them on the second one. There was a big gap to catch after the stop, and I was worried my tyres would go off when I caught them, but fortunately theirs did the same."

"He apologised, and the stewards gave out a penalty, so I can't ask for anything other than that," said Piastri. "He just moved a bit too far to the right. It's very easy to do in that corner, it's very narrow.

"As I say, he came and apologised, so I don't think there's much more to it than that."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 06/09/2023 13:39

"@ Chester...yes, that anomaly was noted. It's almost tantamount to saying 'I'll not talk to anyone, just leave me alone'. BooHoo.

@Spindoctor...you may have a point if there were corners involved but they were racing in almost a straight line when the incident occurred. Look at the footage and you can see Hamiltons front wheel almost a tyres width inside that of Piastri's car!!! He could see both their wheels relative to each other car and he still kept on pushing to the right and trying to force Piastri off track. That's why they collided. That could also be construed as moving in a braking area as well. What goes around comes around...eventually. I also don't prescribe to the Horner theory of ill mannered and salty statements like a lot of people. Memories are short. They were derided by so many as being 'just a fizzy drinks company' that given the results that they've posted they have proved that they are right up there and better than a lot of the classic teams, and we are all better off for it. They are racers through and through and Newey reigns supreme. "

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2. Posted by Chester, 06/09/2023 10:45

"Agree, Kemji about Wolff. I find it telling that Wolff delegated speaking with Sky Sports to a press agent, while he sulked in the garage.
"

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3. Posted by Spindoctor, 06/09/2023 10:12

"@kenji Your being irked is noted. Just to be clear I wasn't & I'm not defending Wolff: his participation in these ludicrous DTS-friendly spats demeans him & Mercedes. He should leave that stuff to Horner who has more natural talent for it.
As to what you call the 'blind spot' excuse, a superficial examination of the mirrors on most F1 cars suggests they give less than panoramic view combined with close proximity to another car at upwards of 100kph, driving at the absolute limits of grip & being infused with adrenaline and I suspect it's quite easy to misjudge what's happening in the mirrors."

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4. Posted by kenji, 06/09/2023 2:01

"@ Spindoctor...the fact that many other drivers have done similar moves in no way reduces the culpability of this latest move. Two issues irk me. Firstly I don't believe the 'blind spot' excuse and secondly the assumption by Wolff that Hamilton is the 'only driver who would admit fault'. As for the penalties meted out? There is nothing there to deter another event given the weak 5 sec time penalty handed to Hamilton. Wolff is slowly disintegrating race by race and it was all there to see post race on Sunday. His interview was demonstrably bitter. This is sure to be further exacerbated by the news that RB have NOT breached the Cost Cap. Makes for an interesting balance of season issues to look forward to....."

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5. Posted by Spindoctor, 05/09/2023 14:45

"Sir Lewis is a racing driver, he wants to race & occasionally, as in this instance gets impatient & makes an error. If you can name a driver who has not committed similar "sins" please identify him.

As fans we can't have it all ways. When these guys try to race these heavy aero-limited cars at 300kph occasional collisions will happen. The penalty is, perhaps another matter. Perhaps the "causing a collision" offence could be sub-divided:
* Causing a collision leading to retirement of innocent party --- 10 secs stop & go
* causing a collision requiring a pitstop ---- 5 secs stop & go
* causing a collision ---- 5 secs time penalty

This has a superficial appeal & something of this ilk would work fine if the Stewards were considered capable of consistency in their judgements. Unfortunately there is no motorsport where the Stewards' opinions are considered "bullet proof" by either competitors or fans, so maybe the current 5 secs one size fits all is best....."

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6. Posted by kenji, 05/09/2023 1:58

"@Defiant .....Sorry, but I make no apologies for my interpretation of events. The GOAT knew exactly what he was doing, as witnessed on the camera specific footage. Wolff himself has publically stated that 'Hamilton doesn't make mistakes'.That is the reason i believe that an apology was so rapidly forthcoming. Fess up and walk it back to minimise the adverse comments. Typical PR 101.0 led response. Piastri deserves some support here as he suffered another blow to his race results. He wouldn't have been there anyway if he hadn't been shafted by his own team at the pitstops. "

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7. Posted by equator180, 04/09/2023 21:38

"For many on this platform who have enjoyed F1 for a few decades this move Hamilton made is one he has used many, many, many times and one that he has never been adequately punished for. It probably won't be the last especially as he gets beaten by his team mate more and more."

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8. Posted by Defiant, 04/09/2023 16:20

"I think that apologising was the correct thing to do and I kind of agree that 5seconds does seem a little soft, however that does seem to be the go to penalty for similar incidents lately. So I think this unfortunate incident was probably handled correctly.

Sir SJW and Oscar seem to have handled it like gentlemen. Thumbs up.

@kenji, wet excuse... possibly but they ALL make mistakes in the heat of it all. Length of service seems a little irrelevant to me. "

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9. Posted by kenji, 04/09/2023 11:53

"@Chester..... You are spot on. What's a 5 sec penalty compared to a pit stop to change the front wing? At least 30 secs. and a ruined race."

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10. Posted by Chester, 04/09/2023 11:02

"A five second penalty on its face seems reasonable for "causing a collision" as it is termed. But it seems trivial, when you damage your opponent's car enough that they need to pit."

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11. Posted by kenji, 04/09/2023 7:34

"The stewards got that one right. Hamilton moved in the braking area to try and force Piastri to back out. For Hamilton to apologise was the very least he could do. To suggest he made an error of judgement is a 'wet excuse' IMO. How long has Hamilton been an F1 driver? "

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Hamilton apologised to Piastri

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