Lewis Hamilton believes the third stop he made during the Hungarian Grand Prix was unnecessary and effectively "opened the door" to the costly penalty he later received for exceeding the pit‑lane speed limit. The seven‑time world champion admitted that the sanction was, in part, a consequence of a series of mistakes he has been making in recent weekends. The incident unfolded on lap 56, when a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed after a McLaren suffered a technical failure and stopped on the side of the track. At that moment Hamilton had just inherited second place from Oscar Piastri.
Ferrari opted to bring him in for a third tyre change while the field was travelling at the reduced VSC speed. The decision proved disastrous for the British driver. While he was in the pits, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen chose to stay out, gaining track position and moving ahead of Hamilton. When Hamilton re‑joined the race he found himself behind his title rival Kimi Antonelli, who had already completed his own pit stop just before the VSC was activated.
The loss of position dropped Hamilton to fourth place with only a handful of laps remaining. Matters worsened when the stewards opened an investigation into Hamilton’s pit‑lane speed. The data showed that his Ferrari had travelled at 80.1 km/h, just 0.1 km/h over the regulated 80 km/h limit. The officials handed him a five‑second time penalty, which was applied after the chequered flag.
Because he could not build a sufficient gap to his teammate Charles Leclerc, the penalty pushed him down to fifth place in the final classification. 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." He went on to explain that his tyres were still in good condition and that, in hindsight, he could have maintained at least third place. "I was probably going to lose out to Max, but I think I could have kept third at least.
Then I just opened up the door to obviously the penalty that I got in the end," he said. The pit‑lane speeding sanction was Hamilton’s second steward’s penalty in as many days at the Hungaroring.
Earlier in the weekend he had received a three‑place grid drop for impeding Oscar Piastri during the final qualifying session, which demoted him from second to fifth on the starting grid. This added to a string of recent time penalties: a five‑second penalty in Belgium for a first‑lap collision with George Russell, and another five‑second sanction at Silverstone for a jump‑start. Consequently, Hamilton’s fifth‑place finish in Hungary allowed Antonelli to widen his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 50 points as the sport entered its summer hiatus.
Despite the setbacks, Hamilton remained optimistic about the remainder of the season. He praised the Mercedes team for their work in the first half of the year, while acknowledging that the last three races have been “not great” and riddled with errors. "I definitely am optimistic," he said.
"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 the incident in Belgium, and now this weekend." Former driver and Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle weighed in on the controversy surrounding the 0.1 km/h breach. He compared it to being "a quarter of a kilo underweight" – technically a violation, but one that feels disproportionately harsh. Brundle explained that teams calibrate their pit‑lane speed limiters to stay just under the 80 km/h threshold, often aiming for 79.9 km/h. A marginal excess of 0.1 km/h can trigger a penalty, even though the actual advantage is negligible.
He noted that in Monaco, several drivers were penalised for similar minor infractions, sparking debate about where the line should be drawn. "There has to be a cut‑off point," Brundle said, "whether it’s the width of the car, the weight of the car, the speed of the car in the pit lane. It’s painful and it’s harsh but it’s the rules – as long as he was actually doing that speed, which they weren’t in Monaco." Hamilton acknowledged Brundle’s points and vowed to avoid further penalties. "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," he remarked.
The Formula 1 calendar will resume 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 without a long‑term contract. Hamilton hopes to return to the podium in the Netherlands, aiming to erase the string of recent setbacks and re‑ignite his championship challenge before the season’s final stretch.