Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton has found himself in a position where F1 penalties kept piling up by the time the race in Hungary was done. A fourth sanction in three race weekends is an unusually steep for a driver of his calibre. The 41-year-old did not hide frustration when questioned about it.
Lewis Hamilton’s F1 penalties: Hungary makes it four in three weekends
The tally began at Silverstone, where Hamilton picked up a five-second penalty for edging forward before the lights went out. This was a call that he still considered harsh as he stayed inside the grid box.
It continued at Spa, where a first-lap clash with George Russell earned him another sanction. Russell himself waved it off as a racing incident. However, the stewards seemed to think otherwise.
Hungary then delivered two penalties in a single weekend. This took Hamilton’s F1 penalties total in Hungary to four across three rounds. It began with a three-place grid drop for impeding McLaren’s Oscar Piastri during qualifying on Saturday. On Sunday, Hamilton received a five-second penalty for pit lane speeding, clocked at just 0.1km/hr over the limit.
Frustration had already spilled onto team radio mid-race, when Hamilton complained that stewards were handing out penalties “like crazy”.
Hamilton breaks down the frustration
When asked directly whether he felt aggrieved by any of the calls, Lewis Hamilton did not dodge the question in the print media pen.
“The last few races have been pretty bad from my side,” he said. “I mean, some stuff was my fault.”
However, he was quick to flag what he sees as a wider issue.
“I know we did talk about [it in] the drivers’ briefing, about the fact that they’re inconsistent with this stuff. There’s been drivers in the past that have moved and haven’t been penalised. We discussed with them the fact that as long as you’re not moving when the lights – if the lights are on, you shouldn’t be penalised. Because I wasn’t at my box, and they agreed. So they are looking into that for the future.”
From there, Hamilton turned to Spa, one of the two rounds behind his run of F1 penalties before Hungary. He was still visibly unconvinced by the decision. “The last race, even the driver that collided with me said it was just a racing incident,” he said, referring to Russell’s own comments after the clash. “And they gave me that one and they ditched out. It was also not needed. It cost me a lot of points.”
From pushback to ownership
Hungary’s qualifying penalty, the third of Hamilton’s F1 penalties in as many weekends and his first of two in Hungary, drew a different tone entirely. Rather than push back, Hamilton owned it. “The one yesterday was really just unfortunate,” he admitted.
“I take responsibility. Ultimately it is me out on track. I should have looked in my mirrors, but I thought everyone would have been in the end of their lap. And the information I got was right at the end, right when he was behind me. That was a communication error.”
Even so, Hamilton was careful not to let the run of F1 penalties define the Hungary weekend entirely. “I’ll work hard to try and come back and reset,” he said. “There’s still lots of positives to take. But I’ve got to try and make sure I don’t give them any reason to give me a penalty.”
With the summer break now underway, Hamilton’s F1 penalties in Hungary leave him fifty points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli. He’s said he wants to reset. The next weekends will show whether he can.
