Lewis Hamilton has been handed a three-place grid penalty for the Hungarian Grand Prix following an investigation into his role in impeding Oscar Piastri during the final segment of qualifying. Initially qualifying in second place, the 41-year-old driver will now start Sunday’s race from fifth on the grid.
According to the stewards, Hamilton was traveling at a significantly reduced speed on the racing line while Piastri was attempting a flying lap. In a post-qualifying press conference, Hamilton explained that he was only made aware of Piastri’s proximity when the McLaren driver was already at the apex behind him, stating, “I had no idea he was coming.” Hamilton further noted that the positioning of his car on the Hungaroring made it impossible to see Piastri in his mirrors. Being the first driver to exit the pits, Hamilton mistakenly believed the remaining Q3 competitors had already finished their runs, specifically noting he thought Charles Leclerc was the driver trailing him.
“Yeah,” Hamilton remarked. “It was crazy, because it had been a clean session and obviously it wasn’t intentional.”
Here’s the incident Hamilton was penalised for #F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/OBspvmBdGx
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 25, 2026
Piastri expressed his frustration to Sky Sports, attributing the setback to Hamilton failing to check his mirrors. The Australian driver noted that between Hamilton’s movement and a yellow flag triggered by Max Verstappen’s spin, he was unable to complete a competitive lap despite the car’s pace. Due to the interference, Piastri was forced to take evasive action, which resulted in him running wide and aborting the lap.
The weekend has seen a significant performance boost from McLaren’s latest upgrade package. Pole sitter Lando Norris noted that while the car’s feel remains consistent, it certainly appears to be faster. Norris secured his first pole position of the season—and the first non-Mercedes pole of 2026—by a narrow margin of 0.012 seconds over Hamilton.
Mercedes faced a more challenging session, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualifying fourth and George Russell in seventh. Team principal Toto Wolff informed Sky Sports that a water leak forced Russell to stop at the end of Q3 rather than returning to parc fermé. Mercedes later confirmed they will undergo an engine change for Russell ahead of the race, marking his fourth engine use of the season.
Additionally, Kimi Antonelli remains under investigation for a potential yellow flag infringement during his flying lap, which occurred while Max Verstappen was spinning.
