Oscar Piastri produced a stunning move to pass Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the Australian Grand Prix, with the duo finishing ninth and 10th respectively.
A ‘frustrated’ Oscar Piastri showed ‘no respect’ for Lewis Hamilton’s reputation with the way he overtook the seven-time champion on the final lap of the Australian Grand Prix.
That was the verdict of former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard after watching footage of the move from the onboard camera on Piastri’s car. The McLaren driver secured ninth place after pulling off a daring overtake around the outside of Hamilton at turn nine on the Albert Park Circuit.
Piastri started second and his race went well in the early stages. He battled team-mate Lando Norris for the lead, but his chances of victory slipped away after he lost control in the wet conditions.
Before they could pit for intermediate tyres, both he and Norris skidded off the track. But while the Brit was able to regain control and continue, Piastri slid further onto the wet grass and it took him some time to find the traction to get back onto the tarmac.
He managed to recover and earn two championship points by finishing ninth. The decisive move came on the last lap, when Piastri bravely passed Hamilton at the turn nine and 10 chicane at high speed. Coulthard, commentating on the race for F1TV, observed that Piastri showed no intimidation in attempting the move, treating the Ferrari star like any other driver.
Coulthard showed admiration towards how the McLaren race car completed the move. Coulthard watched the onboard footage of the dangerous maneuver and highlighted the display as “commitment, bravery, anger and frustration and total disrespect for a seven-time world champion.”
The Australian racer brought home points from the race but his victory chances vanished due to his mistake during the home Grand Prix weekend. The driver showed self-awareness by telling Express that he pushed the vehicle too vigorously.
The conditions preventing people from properly determining the slipperiness level of the track. The track conditions underwent drastic changes between each successive lap according to my assessment. There was nothing I could have done to control my speed because I was entering the corner by then while observing Lando losing control ahead of me.
After entering the rocky area and grassy section you need to maintain the car straight during this dangerous phase. I felt unbelief when my car got completely stuck in the grass because I placed myself in that dangerous position.
The McLaren driver Norris secured his victory by refusing Max Verstappen’s last-minute push which gave him the initial place in the driver standings. McLaren secured its position tied with Mercedes on points after Piastri earned his two points as Mercedes drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli took third and fourth spots.