Lewis Hamilton believes that the third stop he made during the Hungarian Grand Prix was needless and that it essentially "opened the door" to the costly penalty he later received for exceeding the pit‑lane speed limit. He also acknowledged that the sanction was, in part, a consequence of a series of mistakes he has made in recent outings.
The incident unfolded after Hamilton had inherited second place from Oscar Piastri when the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed on lap 56. The VSC was called because a McLaren car had come to a halt on the side of the track with a technical issue, prompting race control to slow the field to a controlled speed. Ferrari elected to bring Hamilton in for a third tyre change while the rest of the grid was circulating at the reduced VSC speed. The decision proved costly: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen stayed out and gained track position, and when Hamilton re‑joined the race he found himself behind his title‑rival at Mercedes, Kimi Antonelli, who had already completed his own stop just before the VSC.
Consequently, Hamilton slipped to fourth place with only a few laps remaining. The situation worsened when the stewards opened an investigation into Hamilton’s pit‑lane speed. The Ferrari was found to have exceeded the 80 km/h limit by a marginal 0.1 km/h, and a five‑second time penalty was handed down. Because the penalty was applied after the chequered flag, Hamilton’s finishing position was altered once more, dropping him to fifth as he could not rebuild a sufficient gap to his teammate Charles Leclerc.
When asked by Sky Sports F1 whether he regretted pitting under the VSC, Hamilton answered unequivocally: "Yeah, I definitely don’t think we should have taken the stop. The call came literally just before the pit‑lane entry and I didn’t have time to debate it, so you have to trust the decision that has been taken. In hindsight, my tyres were totally fine. I was probably going to lose out to Max anyway, but I think I could have held onto third at least.
Then I just opened the door to the penalty I got in the end." This penalty marked Hamilton’s second stewards’ sanction in as many days at the Hungaroring. Earlier in the weekend he had been handed a three‑place grid drop for impeding Oscar Piastri during the final qualifying session, which pushed him from second to fifth on the starting grid.
Prior to the Hungarian race, Hamilton had already served five‑second penalties at the two preceding events. In Belgium, he was penalised for a first‑lap collision with George Russell, and at Silverstone he received the same sanction for a jump‑start.
The cumulative effect of these penalties was evident in the final classification. Hamilton’s fifth‑place finish meant he fell further behind Antonelli in the Drivers’ Championship, allowing the Italian to open a 50‑point lead as the sport entered its summer hiatus. Despite the setbacks, Hamilton remains the closest challenger to the Mercedes driver and expressed optimism about Ferrari’s chances for the remainder of the season. He stressed the importance of avoiding any further infractions: "I definitely am optimistic.
I am massively grateful to the team because they have really done a great job in this first half. The last three races have not been great – lots of mistakes. A mistake at Silverstone that cost dearly, then obviously in Belgium, and now this weekend." Former driver and Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle weighed in on the pit‑lane speed issue, likening it to being "a quarter of a kilo underweight" – frustrating but unavoidable under the rules.
He explained that teams calibrate their pit‑lane speed limiters to stay just below the 80 km/h threshold, often targeting 79.9 km/h. Brundle noted that penalties for exceeding the limit by as little as 0.1 km/h have been issued, but the perception of a competitive advantage fuels debate about where the cut‑off should be.
He added, "It’s painful and it’s harsh but it’s the rules – as long as the driver actually exceeded the speed, the penalty stands." Hamilton concluded that the string of penalties over the past three races has forced him to be more disciplined: "So a lot of penalties in the last three races, so I’ve got to work hard to not give them any opportunity to give me any more penalties moving forwards." Looking ahead, the Formula 1 calendar resumes after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, scheduled for 21‑23 August. All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, and fans can stream the coverage via NOW with a flexible, contract‑free subscription. The Dutch round offers Hamilton and the rest of the grid a chance to reset, avoid further stewards’ actions, and fight for valuable points as the championship enters its decisive second half.