Lewis Hamilton has been handed four penalties by the stewards over the last three Formula 1 race weekends, a remarkably high number for any driver in such a short span. Following his most recent penalty at the Hungarian Grand Prix for exceeding the pit lane speed limit, Hamilton expressed his frustration, stating that the stewards are "dishing out penalties left and right". As a result, Hamilton lost crucial points in the title race and now trails Kimi Antonelli by 50 points in the Drivers' Championship, prompting the question: have these penalties been justified?

Hamilton's first penalty came at the British Grand Prix, where he was given a five-second time penalty for jumping the start. He was deemed to have moved forward before the lights went out and was found to be creeping ahead.

Despite this, Hamilton went on to finish third and considered the penalty to be harsh. He argued that drivers in the past had moved without being penalized and that the stewards were inconsistent in their application of the rules. Hamilton's second penalty also came at the British Grand Prix, where he was given a five-second time penalty for colliding with George Russell on the opening lap.

The stewards found Hamilton to be "wholly at fault" for the incident, which occurred when he understeered into Russell and was unable to maintain sufficient separation. However, Russell himself described the incident as a "racing incident", suggesting that it was an unavoidable accident.

Hamilton benefited from pitting and serving his penalty under a Virtual Safety Car, but without the penalty, he would likely have finished on the podium rather than in fourth place. He may have even had a chance to win the race, given that his teammate Charles Leclerc was only overtaken by the race winner with 10 laps to go. Hamilton's third penalty came at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he was hit with a three-grid place penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri during the final part of Qualifying.

Hamilton was not informed that Piastri was starting his flying lap and effectively blocked the McLaren driver through Turn 1. Hamilton took responsibility for the incident, stating that he should have been more aware of his surroundings. However, he was unhappy with the communication from his team, which led to the impeding incident. Hamilton had qualified second and would have had a strong chance to take the lead on the first lap and potentially win the race.

Instead, he started fifth and was penalized again in the Grand Prix. Hamilton's fourth penalty came at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he exceeded the 80kph speed limit in the pit lane by 0.1kph.

He was eager to beat Antonelli on the merge between pit exit and track but ultimately lost out. Hamilton described the incident as a driver mistake and thought that, with hindsight, he should not have pitted. He believed that he would have been able to maintain third place without the stop.

Apart from the collision with Russell in Belgium, all of Hamilton's penalties have been difficult to argue against. He has probably lost around six points from the in-race penalties, but the impeding incident in Qualifying at the Hungaroring was the most detrimental.

Ferrari had strong pace in Budapest, and track position is crucial, so a good start on softs from the front row of the grid would have likely seen Hamilton in the lead. His raw speed has been impressive recently, and victory was possible on Sunday. He would have been less than 40 points behind Antonelli. To achieve a record-breaking eighth world drivers' title, Ferrari and Hamilton must eliminate these unforced errors.

Hamilton has vowed to work hard to come back, stating that he will try to ensure that he does not give the stewards any reason to penalize him. The Formula 1 season resumes after the summer break with a Sprint weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix from August 21-23, with every session live on Sky Sports F1.