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. The British driver acknowledged that the sanction for speeding was, in part, a consequence of the series of mistakes he has accumulated over recent weekends.
The incident unfolded after Hamilton had inherited second place from Oscar Piastri when a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed on lap 56. The VSC was triggered because a McLaren car had pulled over with a technical issue, forcing the race to run at a reduced, controlled speed. Seizing the opportunity, Ferrari instructed Hamilton to pit for the third time, hoping to gain a strategic edge while the field was bunched together. Unfortunately for Hamilton, the decision backfired.
While the other cars were circulating at the mandated VSC speed, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen chose to stay out on track. By the time Hamilton rejoined the race after his stop, Verstappen had already moved ahead, costing Hamilton a podium position. The situation worsened when he emerged behind his title rival, Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, who had completed his own pit stop just before the VSC period began. As a result, Hamilton slipped to fourth place with only a handful of laps remaining.
The drama did not end there. Shortly after re‑entering the circuit, the stewards opened an investigation into Hamilton’s pit‑lane speed. The analysis revealed that his Ferrari had exceeded the 80 km/h limit by a marginal 0.1 km/h. The officials imposed a five‑second time penalty, which was applied after the race finished, dropping Hamilton from fourth to fifth in the official classification.
When asked by Sky Sports F1 whether he regretted pitting under the VSC, Hamilton responded 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 maintained third place. "Then it just opened up the door to the penalty I got in the end," he said. This penalty marked Hamilton’s second steward’s sanction in as many days at the Hungaroring.
The day before, he had been handed a three‑place grid drop for impeding Oscar Piastri at the end of Q3, which relegated him from second to fifth on the Sunday grid. Prior to the Hungarian round, Hamilton had already served five‑second penalties at the two previous races: in Belgium for a first‑lap collision with George Russell, and at Silverstone for a jump‑start. The cumulative effect of these penalties was evident in the championship standings. Hamilton’s fifth‑place finish meant he fell further behind Antonelli in the Drivers’ Championship, with the Italian driver extending his lead to around 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 performance in the first half of the year, saying, "I am massively grateful to the team because they have really done a great job in this first half. I think 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." He also stressed the importance of avoiding further steward interventions: "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." Former driver and Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle weighed in, comparing the situation to being slightly underweight in a race car – frustrating but within the rules.
He explained that many teams fine‑tune their pit‑lane speed limiters to run just below the 80 km/h threshold, and a deviation of 0.1 km/h is often considered negligible. However, the stewards must enforce a clear cut‑off to maintain fairness, and any excess, however small, can be deemed a competitive advantage. 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 without a long‑term contract.
Hamilton will be eager to put the recent penalties behind him and focus on extracting maximum performance from his car in the remaining races of the season.