Hamilton gets five-second penalty, falls to fifth Hungary

Lewis Hamilton’s Hungarian Grand Prix weekend concluded with a costly five-second time penalty for a minor pit lane speeding violation, compounding earlier frustrations and dropping him from a fourth-place finish to fifth. The penalty, issued after the race on Sunday, July 26, 2026, at the Hungaroring, was the latest in a series of setbacks for the Ferrari driver over the event.

Hamilton’s troubles began in Saturday’s qualifying session, where he initially secured second place on the grid, just 0.012 seconds behind pole-sitter Lando Norris. However, he was later handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding McLaren’s Oscar Piastri during the session, forcing him to start Sunday’s race from fifth position.

The decisive moment in the race came on Lap 57 following a Virtual Safety Car period triggered by Piastri’s retirement. Ferrari called Hamilton in for a tire change, a decision the driver later criticized. He explained that the call came very late, just before the pit lane entry, leaving him no time to debate the strategy. During that stop, Hamilton’s car was recorded at 80.1 km/h, exceeding the strict 80 km/h pit lane speed limit by 0.1 km/h, which resulted in the post-race...