Oscar Piastri took the fastest lap at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix with a 1:25.072 following drama that saw him collide with three different cars.
The McLaren rookie drove a relatively uneventful race that saw both cars sit behind Alex Albon‘s Williams waiting for the tyres to drop off.
Yet he did manage to have contact with three different drivers and almost gave his team a double DNF after surviving a scare with Lando Norris.
The incident occurred on Lap 24 when Piastri exited the pits after being told to box one lap after Norris. As the Australian emerged back onto the track, he braked too deep into Turn 1 and kissed the bodywork of his teammate’s car.
Fortunately for McLaren, both managed to survive and Norris went on to finish in eighth at an unfavourable circuit for the team.
However, misfortune would strike Piastri who had contact with Lewis Hamilton and Liam Lawson.
The contact with Hamilton took place at the Variante della Roggia. The Mercedes driver set Piastri up for a move into that corner by taking a preferable line through Turn 1. Utilising the better traction offered by his medium tyres, he thought he had sealed the move when the pair collided.
Hamilton moved across on Piastri showing a brief lack of spatial awareness from the Formula 1 veteran and the pair banged wheels, with the McLaren suffering wing damage that he had to pit to replace.
Contact with Lawson
That incident put him on a collision course with his fellow rookie, Lawson. The move happened at the same corner as Piastri attempted to recreate the pass Hamilton tried on him, but Lawson was not having any of it and braked late to close off the corner.
Piastri attempted to hang it around the outside and the pair crashed, but didn’t sustain significant damage, and continued on. For his transgression, Piastri received a five-second penalty as he cut the corner.
He went onto finish in 12th place as his time penalty dropped him behind Lawson. The Australian did manage to claim the fastest lap but as he wasn’t classified in the Top 10, he did not score a bonus championship point.
Verstappen on top
The moment was just one of an eventful Italian GP that saw fighting all the way up and down the field. The race was won by Max Verstappen who claimed a record-breaking 10th consecutive win, surpassing Sebastian Vettel’s 2013 total, as he extended his championship lead over Sergio Perez.
