Lewis Hamilton had to settle for a very disappointing P5 in the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP as a five-second penalty for speeding in the pits cost him 4th.
A three-place grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri at the end of Q3 saw the seven-time World Champion start in 5th. He undid some of that damage off the line as he passed teammate Charles Leclerc out of turn 1.
Despite having more pace than Max Verstappen in the first stint, the 106-time race winner could not find a way by as Hungary proved to be extremely difficult to pass on once more without a pace advantage of more than a second.
With Ferrari undercutting the Dutchman, it put Lewis Hamilton in a net P3. However, he caught Liam Lawson toward the end of the lap. Although he passed him, Verstappen closed up as he overtook the Kiwi on the main straight seconds later.
Into turn 1, a big send from the four-time World Champion meant he reclaimed the spot with a bold and brilliant overtake. The driver of car #44 left the door open by failing to cover the inside.
Ferrari then boxed the Brit for a second time on lap 31. The undercut was completely successful this time as Red Bull decided to extend. Once Oscar Piastri dropped out of the race, the Barcelona-Catalunya GP winner was up to 2nd.
As a VSC was thrown, Ferrari boxed the 41-year-old for softs, dropping him behind Verstappen and championship rival Kimi Antonelli. Ultimately, he fell short of passing the Italian. Thanks to the penalty for speeding in the pits, he lost out to teammate Leclerc for 4th.
Lewis Hamilton on his start and battle with Max Verstappen in 2026 F1 Hungarian GP
Speaking in the print media pen post-race, the driver 2nd in the World Championship discussed his race start and the early fight with his fierce rival.
“Yeah, I had a good start, relatively decent start. Gained a position.
“Then, yeah, I had a really good pace in the first stint of the race but just can’t overtake here, unfortunately. Then, undercut Max, which is a positive.
“When we were passing one of the backmarkers I think it was, I didn’t see Max coming, unfortunately. He came past me and it kind of went downhill.”
Pitting under VSC an error, says Hamilton
Revealing he was told to box as he came around the penultimate corner and near the pit entry, Lewis Hamilton said he did not have time to challenge his team’s call in the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP.
While Max Verstappen was catching him on 11 lap younger tyres (softs for the Dutchman, hards for the Brit), he was left to ponder whether P2 or P3 was on. As Kimi Antonelli ended up in tonnes of traffic following his second stop on lap 53, it is unlikely he would have caught up in the final 15 laps if the Ferrari driver had not boxed. The Italian would have had a 23-lap tyre offset.
“I’m not really sure why we stopped at the end. I got the call right before the pit lane entry, so I didn’t have time to debate it; I would never have stopped if it meant I was giving up track position.
“I think we probably would have lost out to Max, he was on fresher tyres, I would imagine, in that last stint; I think we may have been able to hold onto P2. He was catching me.
“But most likely it would have been P3 and it would have been much better. Instead, I lost a bunch of points.”
A better result possible leaves Lewis Hamilton frustrated at 2026 F1 Hungarian GP
If he started on the front row like he was due to until his penalty, Lewis Hamilton certain a podium would have been been achieved on Sunday, although the pace of Lando Norris on race day suggested he was virtually unbeatable.
“I think we executed pretty decently yesterday; I definitely think I had the pace probably to compete at least for the top 2 or 3.
“I think if we hadn’t had the penalty yesterday, we probably would have been in a much better position at the end. But not meant to be.”
Asked to summarise his 2026 F1 Hungarian GP, Lewis Hamilton said it was frustrating.
“It was pretty bad. Frustrating. It is what it is.”
