Lewis Hamilton and the championship‑leading Kimi Antonelli have both been handed grid‑penalty sanctions that will reshuffle the starting order for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The sequence of events began when Ferrari’s Hamilton was initially slapped with a three‑place drop after the qualifying session for allegedly obstructing McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at the very end of Q3. That first penalty moved Hamilton behind Antonelli, who had originally qualified fourth, but a second infraction later saw Hamilton lose another three places for not slowing sufficiently when a yellow‑flag situation unfolded after Max Verstappen spun at the final corner. As a result, Hamilton will line up fifth on the grid, while Antonelli, who currently enjoys a 45‑point lead over the Briton in the Drivers’ Championship, will start from seventh, trailing his Mercedes teammate George Russell.
The provisional top‑ten order after the penalties reads as follows: 1) Lando Norris (McLaren), 2) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 3) Oscar Piastri (McLaren), 4) Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 5) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), 6) George Russell (Mercedes), 7) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), 8) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), 9) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls), 10) Nico Hulkenberg (Audi). Hamilton’s recent run of steward interventions has now reached three consecutive weekends.
He previously served a five‑second in‑race penalty for a false start at Silverstone and was also penalised for a first‑lap clash with Russell in the Belgian Grand Prix. In an Instagram post on Saturday evening, Hamilton expressed his frustration: "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.
To go from being so close to pole to then starting P5 is extremely frustrating." He went on to acknowledge the emotional toll of three penalties in as many weekends, yet he insisted on staying positive: "I always do my best to keep positive – sport is always about the highs and lows, but it's also in the margins. Every point counts and you have to seize every opportunity. After three penalties in three weekends, it's becoming difficult to hang on to that positivity. Still, I won't let the setbacks take away from the progress we've been making as a team.
With the pace we have, I'm hopeful we can get something out of the race tomorrow. The car has been feeling better and better, and we've been competitive all weekend.
Tonight, we'll keep working hard together to give ourselves the best possible chance tomorrow. I always enjoy this track, so keep the faith and send good vibes for the race." McLaren’s Lando Norris ultimately secured pole position after Hamilton’s penalty promoted teammate Charles Leclerc onto the front row. Oscar Piastri moved up to third, while Max Verstappen, who had originally qualified sixth, finished fourth. The qualifying drama unfolded when Hamilton, having set the fastest provisional time, completed his final lap first in Q3 and then slowed abruptly after crossing the start‑finish line.
As he decelerated, the Ferrari appeared to block Piastri’s approach to Turn One during the McLaren’s own flying lap. Both drivers and their team representatives were summoned to the stewards’ office, where video, telemetry, team radio and in‑car footage were examined. The stewards concluded that Hamilton had unnecessarily impeded Piastri, resulting in the three‑place grid drop. Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur accepted responsibility for the incident, stating, "We told him about Piastri but it was far too late.
If there's a mistake, it's our mistake." Hamilton himself explained his perspective, saying, "I was told literally when he was at the apex behind me, so I had no idea he was coming. I thought everyone came out behind me. I was the first out, so I thought everyone had finished the lap.
I think Charles was coming up behind me when I left the pit lane, as far as I was aware. Crazy, because it had been clean, and obviously it wasn't intentional." Many analysts suggested that Ferrari could have avoided the clash entirely by sending Hamilton back onto the track for his final timed lap later in the session, rather than earlier.
Hamilton had held provisional pole by a tenth of a second after the first set of timed laps in Q3, but being the first car to start the final run left him vulnerable to traffic and the subsequent incident with Piastri. Norris, who was the second‑last driver to take the track, managed to improve his time and edged Hamilton out by 0.012 seconds, securing his first pole of the season. Hamilton later admitted his surprise at being sent out first: "I don't know why we went first, and that was a bit of a shock to me.
I definitely wouldn't have chosen to go first, but it is what it is. I had a clean out‑lap, and when I started my lap, already into Turn One I had a snap and I was already a tenth and a half down. It just cascaded from there.
So, the last lap was the worst lap of all, and all the other laps were really good. We clearly had the car to be on pole today, and I just didn't deliver.
So that's tough to swallow." Hamilton also noted that a pole position at the Hungaroring would have been his first Grand Prix pole since the same event three years earlier, adding, "It definitely got away from us." In a separate incident, Antonelli was investigated for failing to slow adequately as he approached the final corner while Max Verstappen’s Red Bull was in the runoff area. Antonelli told Sky Sports F1 after the session, "The yellow flag came while I was entering the corner so I tried my best to lift.
I did lift but gave up quite a bit of minimum speed compared to before. It was a shame." The stewards’ post‑qualifying review found that although Antonelli had reduced throttle earlier than on his previous lap, his speed was still marginally higher than the preceding push lap.
Consequently, they deemed his deceleration "insufficient and unsustained" and issued a three‑place grid penalty, reduced from the standard five places because of the mitigating factor that he had, in fact, slowed down to some degree. The Hungarian Grand Prix weekend schedule is packed with support races: the F3 Feature Race at 7:35 am, Porsche Supercup at 9:05 am, F2 Feature Race at 10:20 am, followed by the Grand Prix build‑up from 12:30 pm and the main race at 2:00 pm. The event will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event, with streaming available via NOW without a long‑term contract. Fans are encouraged to follow Sky Sports on WhatsApp for real‑time updates, videos, analysis and exclusive content.
Overall, the penalties handed to Hamilton and Antonelli underscore the increasingly strict enforcement of track‑side regulations in Formula 1, especially regarding yellow‑flag compliance and the protection of other drivers during qualifying. Both drivers and their teams will now have to adapt their strategies for the race itself, aiming to recover lost ground and capitalize on any opportunities that arise on the demanding, twisty circuit of the Hungaroring.