Lewis Hamilton Penalized: Ferrari Takes the Blame, but He Snaps Back

Lewis Hamilton was penalized, but it was Ferrari’s fault. His demotion from second to fifth on the grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix was the result of Oscar Piastri slowing down—a move caused by an ill-advised maneuver by the seven-time world champion during qualifying, though the pit wall bore the responsibility. This had already been suspected in real time (“But was he on a flying lap?” the Brit immediately asked over the radio), and confirmation came a few hours later.

The FIA itself, in the ruling that made the penalty official, specified that it had learned of the pit wall’s failure to inform Hamilton that Piastri was behind him. “We told him too late. If there was a mistake, it was ours,” admitted Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari’s team principal, speaking to the British outlet ‘Sky Sports UK.’ Meanwhile, the seven-time world champion—the most successful driver ever at the twisty Hungaroring—vented his frustration on social media.

“Sometimes you just can’t catch a break. Even this weekend, I felt great in every session, but everything fell apart. Coming so close to pole position and ending up fifth is extremely frustrating,” Hamilton lamented on Instagram. “I always do my best to stay positive, but after three penalties in three weekends, it’s getting tough. I’ll still make sure these setbacks don’t overshadow the team’s progress. With the pace we have, I expect we’ll get a good result from tomorrow’s race. Ferrari is getting better and better; we’ve been competitive all weekend.”

After all, this isn’t the first time during this phase of the season leading up to the summer break that Hamilton has had to deal with a penalty. In Belgium, at Spa-Francorchamps, he had already served 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, who had temporarily lost the lead during a Virtual Safety Car period but then regained it by passing Leclerc with ten laps to go, with Verstappen finishing third on the podium.

Hamilton’s penalty has completely reshuffled the starting grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Leading the pack will be Lando Norris, the reigning world champion, who secured pole position with a time of 1:17.207, beating the British Ferrari driver by just 12 thousandths of a second—though, as mentioned, Norris is forced to start only from fifth position. Behind the McLaren No. 1 will be Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, and Max Verstappen, with Russell in sixth after a difficult session that was cut short by a technical issue with his car. Finally, World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli will start only seventh, having also been penalized three positions for failing to respect a yellow flag during his flying lap.

The World Championship standings make Sunday’s race particularly crucial for Hamilton. The seven-time world champion arrives at the Hungaroring with 159 points, second in the overall standings behind Antonelli, who leads with 204 points. A victory by the driver from Bologna, combined with a disappointing result for the British Ferrari driver, could deal a heavy blow to Hamilton’s championship ambitions right on the eve of the summer break. On the eve of the weekend, Hamilton himself had clearly assessed the situation: “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.”

His teammate Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, could benefit from the situation; he’ll start from the front row with real hopes of victory. The Monegasque driver, while admitting he struggled to keep up with Hamilton during qualifying due to shifting wind conditions that made it difficult to manage the car’s setup, hopes to make the most of a Ferrari that has arrived at the Hungaroring with significant technical updates, including a new rear wing. Leclerc heads into the Hungarian Grand Prix with 126 points in the standings, sitting fourth overall: a victory could significantly shake up the standings ahead of the summer break.