Lewis Hamilton received a five-second time penalty during the Hungarian Grand Prix for exceeding the pit lane speed limit. The infringement occurred as Hamilton entered the pit lane for his second tyre change. Stewards recorded his speed at 80.1 kph, exceeding the mandated 80 kph limit.
This penalty demoted Hamilton from fourth to fifth position in the final race classification, placing him behind his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. The decision has generated discussion within the paddock.
Sky Sports F1 pundit Anthony Davidson expressed confusion regarding the penalty. He stated that footage from Hamilton’s onboard camera appeared to show the pit limiter button activated at the correct moment.
Davidson remarked during the broadcast, ‘I’ve looked at this so many times and I can’t work out why he gets a penalty.’ He added, ‘For me, he slows down sufficiently well.’
Fellow Sky Sports F1 analyst Martin Brundle described the penalty as ‘harsh’ but acknowledged the strict nature of the regulations. Brundle highlighted concerns over the frequency of such marginal infractions.
Hamilton himself reacted to the penalty, stating to his race engineer Carlo Santi, ‘Aye, handing out penalties like crazy.’ He further commented, ‘Every opportunity that I give those stewards, every single time they give me a penalty!’
The FIA measures pit lane speed using electronic timing loops embedded in the asphalt and transponders on each car. This system calculates average speed over defined segments.
Drivers engage a pit limiter button on their steering wheel, which electronically caps the car’s speed. Despite this technology, marginal infringements of 0.1 kph have been recorded.
This incident follows a series of penalties for Hamilton this season, marking his fourth sanction in three race weekends. Previous penalties included a false start at Silverstone and a collision at Spa.
Similar 0.1 kph speeding penalties were issued to multiple drivers at the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix. This led to theories concerning potential timing system anomalies or track layout changes.
One explanation for the Monaco incidents suggested that a new pit box for the Cadillac team altered the pit lane entry. This change reportedly caused drivers to shorten the distance between timing loops.
Elsewhere in the Hungarian Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri’s race was compromised by a collision with Carlos Sainz. Piastri was battling for the lead with teammate Lando Norris at the time.
Sainz, driving for Williams, made contact with Piastri’s McLaren as Piastri attempted to lap him at Turn 2. Stewards deemed Sainz ‘wholly responsible’ for the incident.
Sainz received a five-second time penalty. This was a reduced sanction from the standard 10 seconds for causing a collision, citing a ‘mitigating circumstance.’
The mitigating factor identified was that Piastri was not visible to Sainz prior to the attempted overtake, despite Sainz being informed of Piastri’s approach via blue flags.
Sainz later stated there was an issue with the FIA’s blue flag system, indicating he ‘didn’t have blue lights on the steering.’ Piastri subsequently retired from the race due to a gearbox problem.
Lando Norris secured his first victory of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Kimi Antonelli currently leads the 2026 Drivers’ Championship, having claimed six wins from 11 races.
