After the Hungarian GP, Lewis Hamilton questioned Ferrari’s strategic decisions. For example, he was called in for a third pit stop during a late virtual safety car. However, it cost the seven-time world champion positions, and to make matters worse, he also received a new time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. A defeated Hamilton vowed afterwards that he no longer wanted to be put in such situations.
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After Oscar Piastri had to retire from the race due to a gearbox problem, a virtual safety car was deployed. Ferrari decided to bring Hamilton in, but the Brit was then overtaken by both Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli. Ultimately, he also received a five-second time penalty, which left him stranded in P5 behind teammate Charles Leclerc. According to the FIA stewards, he was only 0.1 km/h over the limit in the pit lane.
Penalty after penalty for Hamilton
It is yet another penalty for Hamilton, who has repeatedly crossed the line in the last three weekends. Earlier, he received time penalties during the British and Belgian Grands Prix, followed by a three-place grid penalty in Hungary. Adding insult to injury: the Ferrari driver himself never wanted to make a pit stop. “I absolutely don’t think we should have made the pit stop; the call came literally just before the pit lane, so I didn’t have time to think about it,” he explained to Sky Sports. “As drivers, we have to trust that a good decision will be made, but in hindsight, my tires were fine.”
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Hamilton admitted that the past few weeks have resulted in many mistakes and penalties, but emphasized that he takes responsibility for showing improvement. “It just opened the door for the penalty I ultimately got,” he sighed. “I think the last three races haven’t been great. Many mistakes, a mistake at Silverstone that cost me dearly and of course also in the last race. I have to work hard not to give the stewards the chance to penalize me even more often.”
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