Lewis Hamilton and championship leader Kimi Antonelli have both been hit with grid penalties that will reshuffle the front of the Hungarian Grand Prix starting order. The first sanction was handed to Hamilton, who had originally qualified second, after the stewards determined he impeded McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at the end of the final qualifying session.
The three‑place drop pushed the Ferrari driver behind Antonelli, who had originally qualified fourth. A second penalty was then applied to Hamilton for failing to reduce speed sufficiently when a yellow‑flag situation emerged following Max Verstappen’s spin on the final corner. This infraction also carried a three‑place demotion, leaving Hamilton in fifth place on the grid.
Antonelli, who currently leads the Drivers’ Championship by 45 points, will line up seventh, behind his teammate George Russell. The revised top ten now 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 was previously penalised with a five‑second in‑race penalty for a false start at Silverstone, and a first‑lap collision with Russell in the Belgian Grand Prix earned him another sanction.
In an Instagram post on Saturday evening, Hamilton expressed his frustration: “Sometimes you just can’t catch a break. I felt great throughout the weekend, but it all fell apart at the end. Going from being on the brink of pole to starting P5 is incredibly disappointing.
I always try to stay positive – sport is about highs and lows, and every point matters. After three penalties in three weeks, staying upbeat is getting harder, but I won’t let these setbacks erase the progress we’ve made as a team. The car has felt better all weekend, and I’m hopeful we can extract something good tomorrow. I love this circuit, so keep the faith and send good vibes for the race.” McLaren’s Lando Norris claimed pole after topping the final qualifying session, with Hamilton’s penalty promoting Charles Leclerc to the front row.
Oscar Piastri moved up to third, while Max Verstappen, who had originally qualified sixth, finished fourth. Hamilton had been the first of the front‑runners to start his final flying lap in Q3, a lap that left him surprised by his provisional pole time.
After crossing the start‑finish line, his car appeared to block Piastri as the McLaren driver entered Turn One for his own attempt. Both drivers and team representatives were summoned to the stewards’ office, where the evidence – video, telemetry, radio transcripts and in‑car footage – was reviewed.
The stewards concluded that Hamilton, travelling at a reduced speed on the racing line, failed to see Piastri’s approaching car and forced the McLaren driver to abort his lap, resulting in a three‑place grid drop. Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur took responsibility for the incident, stating that the blame lay with the team for not informing Hamilton in time.
“We told him about Piastri, but it was far too late. If there’s a mistake, it’s ours,” he told Sky Sports F1.
Hamilton himself explained that he was unaware of Piastri’s proximity, believing he was the first driver out and that everyone else would follow later. He admitted that the situation was “crazy” and emphasized that the blockage was unintentional. The controversy could have been avoided if Ferrari had sent Hamilton back onto the track for his final timed lap later in the session rather than early. Hamilton held provisional pole by a tenth of a second after the first set of Q3 laps, but Norris, who was the second‑last driver to run, improved his time and edged Hamilton out by 0.012 seconds.
Hamilton reflected on the decision to go out first, calling it a “shock” and acknowledging that his final lap was the worst of the session despite a clean out‑lap. In a separate incident, Antonelli was investigated for not slowing enough when he approached the Hungaroring’s final corner while Verstappen’s Red Bull was in the runoff area under yellow flags. Antonelli told Sky Sports F1 that the yellow flag appeared as he was entering the corner, and he lifted off the throttle, though he admitted his speed remained higher than on the previous push lap. The stewards agreed that while he did reduce speed, the reduction was “insufficient and unsustained.” Typically, such an infraction would merit a five‑place grid penalty, but the panel considered the mitigating factor of his partial slowdown and reduced the sanction to three places.
The weekend schedule includes a variety of support races: an F3 feature race at 7:35 am, the Porsche Supercup at 9:05 am, an F2 feature race at 10:20 am, followed by the Hungarian Grand Prix build‑up from 12:30 pm and the main race at 2:00 pm on Sunday. The event will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event, with streaming available through NOW without a long‑term contract. Fans are encouraged to follow Sky Sports on WhatsApp for the latest updates, video highlights, analysis, and behind‑the‑scenes content.
Despite the setbacks, Hamilton remains optimistic about the race, emphasizing his affection for the Budapest circuit and urging supporters to keep the positive energy flowing as the drivers line up for what promises to be an exciting Grand Prix.