Hungarian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton Expected This Qualifying Setback
Lewis Hamilton came close to securing a historic 10th career pole position at the Hungaroring, a result that would have earned him yet another unprecedented record in Formula 1. On the track, however, he was beaten by Lando Norris’s McLaren by just 12 thousandths of a second—a margin that would have at least secured him a spot on the front row. On Sunday, however, he will have to start from fifth on the grid due to a penalty imposed by the FIA after a wait of over two hours. But the British Ferrari driver, already in a heated state, had admitted he expected it.
The FIA’s decision was, in fact, the result of Hamilton slowing down to the detriment of the other McLaren, driven by Oscar Piastri. “But was he on his fast lap?” he immediately asked over the radio to the Ferrari pit, effectively acknowledging the infraction. The body language of the two drivers also left little room for interpretation, with the Australian pumping his fist at his colleague behind the wheel of the SF-26. Hamilton, in turn, immediately apologized with an equally eloquent hand gesture.
“We did a great job all weekend and our qualifying was solid, but going out first on the final attempt wasn’t the right choice, I don’t think,” Hamilton revealed right after qualifying ended. Plus, on the final lap, for some reason, we had no grip. That goes for me, but I think for Leclerc as well. I love this track—we’ve always been competitive here—but I’m expecting a tough day tomorrow. I’d say pole position slipped through my fingers, since we were out front throughout the entire qualifying session. But after finishing the lap, I may have hindered someone, so I’m trying to replay what happened in my head, and right now I can’t say what will happen.” This admission was confirmed a few hours later.
With the penalty, Hamilton drops to fifth place, leaving the spot on the second row to Oscar Piastri. The starting grid thus sees Norris leading the pack, followed by Leclerc, Piastri, and Verstappen, with Hamilton fifth and Russell sixth after a complicated session cut short by a technical issue with his car. Drivers’ Championship leader Antonelli is only seventh, having also been penalized—but for failing to observe a yellow flag during his flying lap.
The championship context makes Sunday’s race particularly critical for Hamilton. The seven-time world champion arrives at the Hungaroring with 159 points, second in the overall standings behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who leads with 204 points. The young Mercedes driver, who qualified fourth, will start from the second row with the goal of further consolidating his lead. A victory by the driver from Bologna, combined with a disappointing result for the British Ferrari driver, could prove to be a major blow to Hamilton’s championship hopes.
This isn’t the first time in this final stretch of the season before the summer break that Hamilton has had to deal with a penalty. In Belgium, at Spa-Francorchamps, he had already had to serve a five-second penalty following contact at the start with George Russell, though he still finished in fourth place. That race was won by Antonelli, with Leclerc second and Verstappen third, and it further extended the World Championship leader’s lead.
On the eve of the Hungarian race weekend, Hamilton had also clearly assessed the competitive landscape on the track: “Our car is similar to the one in Monaco; just a few details have changed,” he said at Media Day. “We’ve certainly shown progress, but Mercedes is the team to beat. They’ve won almost every race and have proven to be fast on every type of track and in any conditions. The Hungaroring shares some similarities with Monte Carlo, and they were fast there too.” These words sound almost prophetic in light of a qualifying session in which Antonelli only partially confirmed the Silver Arrow’s competitiveness, failing to snatch pole position from a Norris in top form or to trouble the two Ferraris.
