Lewis Hamilton has received a three-place grid penalty for the Hungarian Grand Prix, dropping him from second to fifth on the starting grid. The penalty was issued following an incident during Saturday’s qualifying session where Hamilton impeded Oscar Piastri.
The incident occurred at Turn 1 during the final runs of Q3. Hamilton, having completed his fast lap, was travelling at a significantly reduced speed on the racing line. Piastri, who was on a push lap, approached Hamilton and was forced to take evasive action, running wide and aborting his lap.
The FIA stewards reviewed video, telemetry, team radio, and in-car video evidence. They determined that Hamilton’s car unnecessarily impeded Piastri’s McLaren.
Hamilton explained to the stewards that he had just completed a fast lap and did not receive his team’s radio message regarding the approaching Piastri until the McLaren was already in close proximity. He also stated that Piastri’s car was not visible in his mirrors due to his car’s positioning on the track.
Ferrari’s race engineer, Carlo Santi, admitted to being ‘caught by the yellow flag’ and informing Hamilton late about Piastri’s approach. Ferrari has taken responsibility for the communication error that led to the penalty.
Piastri described the impeding incident as ‘pretty bad’ and accused Hamilton of ‘not looking in his mirrors’. Footage not shown on the main broadcast captured Piastri making a sarcastic thumbs-up gesture towards Hamilton from his cockpit.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella expressed disappointment for Piastri, noting that the incident prevented him from completing his final Q3 attempt. Piastri had to settle for fifth in qualifying before Hamilton’s penalty.
Hamilton expressed his frustration on social media following the decision. He wrote to his 43.5 million Instagram followers, ‘Sometimes you just can’t catch a break. Another weekend when I’ve been feeling great throughout all the sessions, but then it just falls apart.’
He added that going from being close to pole position to starting P5 is ‘extremely frustrating’. Hamilton noted that after three penalties in three weekends, it is becoming ‘difficult to hang on to that positivity’.
This penalty marks Hamilton’s third in as many race weekends. He received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with George Russell at the Belgian Grand Prix and another five-second penalty at Silverstone for jumping the start of the British Grand Prix earlier this season.
The grid reshuffle sees Charles Leclerc promoted to the front row alongside pole-sitter Lando Norris. Kimi Antonelli moves up to third, and Piastri will now start from fourth position.
Antonelli also received a three-place grid penalty for a yellow flag infringement during Q3, dropping him to seventh on the grid. This was due to failing to slow sufficiently after Max Verstappen spun at the final corner.
Despite the setbacks, Hamilton stated he would not let them detract from the team’s progress. He expressed hope for the race, citing the car’s improved pace throughout the weekend.
