Oscar Piastri reflects on late Lando Norris battle at Monza

Piastri left to rue final-lap defeat

Oscar Piastri has described his late fight with Lando Norris at the Italian Grand Prix as a “good battle” after losing fourth place on the final lap at Monza.

The Australian had qualified third but started sixth after receiving a three-place grid penalty for impeding Liam Lawson. The sanction had already reshaped his race position before the start, as detailed in our report on Piastri’s grid penalty at Monza.

Despite that setback, Piastri was able to move into contention at points during the race. He even appeared to have an outside chance of finishing third, although his progress was compromised by the time he lost while battling Lewis Hamilton in the middle phase.

Norris finds the decisive pace

Piastri nevertheless looked set to secure fourth place in the closing laps, behind both Mercedes and Max Verstappen. Norris changed that picture with a late surge of pace, overtaking his McLaren team-mate on the final lap to take the position.

Piastri believed he would have an opportunity to respond after being passed, but the chance never materialised. The result turned a seemingly secure fourth place into a final-lap loss, with the Australian left to assess the decisions that shaped the duel.

“Yeah, I mean, it was a good battle,” Piastri told select media. “It was a lot of back and forth, and on the last lap, you never really know what to do with the energy.”

The closing exchange was also influenced by the drivers taking different approaches to their available energy, adding another layer of uncertainty to an already tight fight.

“I think we went for different strategies with that, and he got past, and I thought I’d have a chance to get back past again,” Piastri explained. “But ultimately, I just didn’t quite get there.”

A lesson for the next fight

Although Piastri missed the chance to reclaim fourth, he framed the duel as a useful learning experience rather than a straightforward frustration. The final lap exposed how quickly the order could change when both drivers were forced to gamble with their energy strategy.

“So, yeah, it’s always a bit of a gamble with these cars,” he said. “But yeah, I definitely know for next time what I would do differently.”