Lewis Hamilton has voiced frustration with his Ferrari team following the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he incurred a penalty and lost ground in the title race against Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli. Despite finishing fourth on the track at the Hungaroring, a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane relegated him to fifth place in the final classification.
The race was won by McLaren’s Lando Norris, securing his first victory of the season. Max Verstappen of Red Bull finished second, with Antonelli taking third.
Pit Stop Strategy Under Scrutiny
Hamilton’s late pit stop under a virtual safety car period was a key point of contention. The decision provided him with fresh tyres but resulted in a loss of track position to Verstappen and Antonelli. He was unable to regain these positions, and the same pit stop led to the penalty.
“It was pretty bad. Pretty frustrating,” Hamilton stated, questioning the team’s strategic call. He added, “I definitely don’t think we should have taken the stop but the call came literally just before the pit-lane entry and I didn’t have time to debate.”
He expressed that he would not have stopped if it meant sacrificing track position, believing he might have held on to second or at least third place. Instead, he noted, he “lost a bunch of points.”
The Ferrari driver had just moved into second place after Oscar Piastri’s McLaren stopped on track, triggering the virtual safety car on lap 56. Ferrari opted to pit Hamilton for a third time while cars were running at a controlled speed. He lost position to Verstappen, who did not pit, and subsequently fell behind Antonelli.
The penalty for pit-lane speeding was imposed after his car exceeded the 80kph limit by 0.1kph. Unable to pass Antonelli or build a five-second lead over his teammate Charles Leclerc, Hamilton dropped to fifth.
Penalties and Future Outlook
The pit-lane speeding sanction was Hamilton’s second penalty of the weekend at the Hungaroring, following a three-place grid drop for impeding Piastri in qualifying. This earlier penalty moved him from second to fifth on the starting grid for Sunday’s race.
He has also received five-second penalties in the two preceding races. In Belgium, he was penalised for a collision with George Russell, and at Silverstone, for a jump start. Hamilton acknowledged making “lots of mistakes” in recent races and stated his intention to avoid further penalties.
The Briton’s fifth-place finish meant he now trails Antonelli by 50 points in the Drivers’ Championship as Formula One enters its summer break. He had been 45 points behind Antonelli prior to the race.
Despite the setbacks, Hamilton remains optimistic for the second half of the season. He believes the annual shutdown has arrived at an opportune moment for him to “reset” and return stronger. He also highlighted the team’s performance in the first half of the season, despite being at a pace and power disadvantage on the straights.
Meanwhile, Lando Norris, who secured his and McLaren’s first win of the year, believes he is performing at his best, even surpassing his performance from last season when he won the title. He noted that the significant upgrades McLaren brought to Hungary proved effective, contributing to the car’s strong performance.
Norris is 91 points behind Antonelli in the championship, with 12 races remaining. He expressed confidence in the car’s speed and his own flow during the race, stating, “When the car’s good and when I’m in a good flow, there’s no stopping.”
The Formula 1 season is scheduled to resume with the Dutch Grand Prix from August 21-23.
Source: theguardian.com