"Just love to see this kind of sportsmanship" - F1 fans cheer Lewis Hamilton's post-race apology to Oscar Piastri

Lewis Hamilton was seen apologising to Oscar Piastri after the race for the contact the two drivers made earlier at the Italian Grand Prix.

During the race at Monza, Hamilton in the Mercedes started P8. But he soon dropped a place down and was constantly challenged by the two McLarens ahead of him.

Later in the race, during the 40th lap of the race, Hamilton and Piastri went wheel to wheel to battle for the position very closely on turn four, but Piastri kept the position. During the follow-up lap on the same corner, the Mercedes driver moved under braking and collided with Piastri, damaging his front wing.

Oscar Piastri was forced to pit and although he took the fastest lap of the race, finishing P12, he had no points in his hands. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton was given a 5-second time penalty.

After the race, Hamilton was seen approaching and apologising to the McLaren driver for the entire incident, which the driver also admitted later. This gesture was well-received by fans online.

Here are some of the most readable reactions from social media.

"I just love to see this kind of sportsmanship. It really sets the right examples in the sport, especially because Oscar’s a rookie and it seems easy to take advantage of that. Taking accountability matters regardless of who your competitor is. I was so glad to see this."

"Lewis Hamilton once again showing great sportsmanship. if only his fans could act the same way"

"really lovely from Lewis 🥹 not surprised, but so glad to see it, and that was a resilient drive from Oscar! 🧡

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Lewis Hamilton and George Russell unaffected by their time penalties

As mentioned previously, the seven-time world champion was given a 5-second time penalty during the race for his incident with the McLaren driver. However, it did not affect his finishing position because the next driver, Alex Albon, was over seven seconds behind the W14.

Lewis Hamilton's teammate, George Russell, was also given a 5-second time penalty for an earlier incident with Esteban Ocon. By the end of the race, he was at P4 and had Hamilton over 10 seconds behind him. Hence, his position was also secure.

Team principal Toto Wolff said, while speaking to Sky Sports, that finishing at that position wasn't great but it was the most they could have had with the time penalties.

"Lots of incidents, but you need to be careful not to be too happy about a fifth and a sixth. I think we maximised what was in there today. I think both penalties you can justify, so we are going to look at that and how we can prevent it in the future."