Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton was handed a 3-place grid penalty for impeding McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in the 2026 F1 Hungarian GP Qualifying, which drops him from the front row to P5.
Entering the Hungarian GP Qualifying with high hopes of securing his first pole position for Ferrari, the 7-time World Champion came close, but ultimately lost out to Lando Norris by 0.012s. However, a decisive moment with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in Q3 cost Hamilton a front-row start for tomorrow’s 2026 F1 Hungarian GP.
After completing his final run in Q3, Lewis Hamilton, on a slow lap, took the racing line into Turn 1, believing no car behind was on a fast lap. Unfortunately, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri had just started his fast lap. Heading into Turn 1, the Australian found Hamilton on the racing line and forced him to lift off the throttle. Consequently, Hamilton had to report to the Stewards for impeding Piastri during the 2026 Hungarian GP Qualifying.
Having heard from both the Ferrari team representative and the driver, the Stewards deemed that Hamilton was guilty of impeding Piastri and subsequently slapped the Briton with a 3-place grid penalty for tomorrow’s 2026 Hungarian GP.
Hamilton explains the reason for impeding Piastri in Hungarian GP Qualifying
During the hearing with the Stewards, the 7-time Champion explained that Ferrari had warned him too late about the fast-approaching Piastri and that, due to the position of his car, he was unable to spot the McLaren driver in his mirror.
Despite Hamilton’s explanation, the Stewards found he had “unnecessarily impeded” Piastri, which led to a 3-place grid drop for the Ferrari driver.
“Having examined the available evidence, the Stewards determined that Car 44 unnecessarily impeded Car 81 during qualifying. In accordance with the FIA F1 Regulations and the established penalty guidelines for this type of infringement in Qualifying, the Stewards impose a three-place grid penalty on the driver of Car 44.”
