Lewis Hamilton believes that the third stop he made during the Hungarian Grand Prix was superfluous and that it essentially "opened the door" to the costly sanction he later received for exceeding the pit‑lane speed limit. While acknowledging that the penalty was a consequence of his own errors in recent outings, Hamilton argued that the extra pit stop was the catalyst for the mishap.
The incident unfolded after Hamilton had inherited second place from Oscar Piastri when a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed on lap 56 following a McLaren retirement caused by a technical failure. Seizing the opportunity, Ferrari elected to bring Hamilton in for a third tyre change while the field was circulating at the reduced VSC speed. This strategic move, however, proved detrimental. While the Red Bull of Max Verstappen stayed out and retained his position, Hamilton rejoined the race behind his title rival Kimi Antonelli, who had already completed his own stop.
The loss of track position pushed Hamilton down to fourth place as the final laps unfolded. Compounding the setback, stewards opened an investigation into Hamilton's pit‑lane speed. The analysis revealed that his Mercedes had exceeded the 80 kph limit by a mere 0.1 kph, prompting a five‑second time penalty. The sanction was applied after the chequered flag, demoting Hamilton from fourth to fifth in the official results because he could not create a sufficient buffer over his teammate Charles Leclerc before the penalty was enforced.
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 – you have to trust the decision that has been taken." He added that his tyres were still in good condition and that, although he expected to lose ground to Verstappen, he believed he could have at least held onto third place. "Then it just opened up the door to the penalty I got in the end," he said. This penalty marks Hamilton's second steward intervention in as many days at the Hungaroring.
The previous day he received a three‑place grid drop for impeding Oscar Piastri at the end of Q3, which relegated him from second to fifth on the race‑day grid. Prior to the Hungarian weekend, Hamilton had already been handed five‑second penalties in the two races before: in Belgium for a first‑lap collision with George Russell, and at Silverstone for a jump‑start. Those successive sanctions have begun to erode his points tally, allowing Antonelli to stretch his lead in the Drivers' Championship to roughly 50 points as the sport pauses for the summer break.
Despite the string of setbacks, Hamilton remains Mercedes' leading challenger and expressed optimism about Ferrari's form for the remainder of the season. He stressed the need to avoid further infractions, noting, "I definitely am optimistic.
I'm massively grateful to the team because they've 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 the incident in Belgium, and now this weekend." Former driver and Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle weighed in, likening the situation to being "a quarter of a kilo underweight" – frustrating but unavoidable when the regulations are clear.
He highlighted that many drivers in Monaco were also caught slightly over the 80 kph limit, often by just 0.1 kph, and that teams fine‑tune their pit‑lane limiters throughout the weekend to stay just under the threshold. Brundle explained that while small breaches may seem negligible, the governing body draws a line to prevent any perceived competitive advantage, and penalties are applied consistently.
Looking ahead, the Formula 1 calendar will resume after the summer hiatus 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 without a long‑term contract. Hamilton will be keen to put the recent penalties behind him, focus on clean racing, and try to claw back points as the championship enters its decisive phase.