Damon Hill reacts to Oscar Piastri's hilarious explanation of his lineage connecting him to Italy
Former F1 world champion Damon Hill gave a hilarious reaction to McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, explaining his connection to Italy ahead of the 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The Aussie driver has made a stellar start to the 2025 season, winning four of the first six races of the year and leading the championship for the first time in his F1 career.
For his on-track prowess, the 23-year-old was presented with the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy heading into the race in Imola and followed in the footsteps of his manager and fellow Aussie, Mark Webber, in winning the award.
While speaking about the feat in the pre-race press conference in Imola, Oscar Piastri spoke about his Italian heritage and gave a hilarious explanation while chiming in on the experience, saying:
"Also, to meet some of my now very, very distant relatives, from where my family name originated, was very special. I’m now an honorary citizen of Licciana Nardi in Italy, which is where my great, great – maybe great – grandfather was from. So it was a special day. Another home race. Another one!"
On his Instagram Story, Damon Hill was perplexed by the Aussie's explanation and gave a hilarious reaction, saying:
"Who do you think you are, Oscar Piastri?"
Earlier in the year, Piastri had also revealed that he had some Chinese heritage as well in his lineage, and called himself part Chinese.
Oscar Piastri gives his take on the future of the iconic Imola circuit
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri stated that having two tracks in Italy did not "make sense" given the amount of interest for the sport from the rest of the world.
He told the media in Imola on Thursday, May 15:
"I think having two races in the same country, with how many bids we have from around the world, maybe doesn’t make that much sense anymore. And when you have Monza as your second race in Italy… it’s pretty hard not to go to Monza. So for me, we just need to be careful to preserve the history."
"Zandvoort is going, Spa is going to be on rotation, which I’m not the happiest about. We just need to be careful not to lose these historical tracks. OK, maybe it’s not the best track to race on — not the best for overtaking — but in terms of the ultimate experience of driving an F1 car, this is at the top of the list."
The 2025 edition of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix could be the final one for the foreseeable future, as the contract for the track expires at the end of the year, with even F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali mentioning that it would be difficult to keep the track on the F1 calendar.