Lewis Hamilton has been handed a three-place grid penalty for the Hungarian Grand Prix after impeding Oscar Piastri during qualifying at the Hungaroring on Saturday.
The seven-time world champion had qualified second on the grid, missing pole position by just 12 thousandths of a second, beaten by McLaren's Lando Norris. Immediately after Q3, Hamilton came under investigation for an incident with the other McLaren of Piastri.
Piastri, on a push lap, encountered Hamilton travelling at reduced speed on the racing line at Turn 1 and was forced to abort his lap, leaving the Australian down in fifth place.
The stewards determined Hamilton had breached Article 37.5 of the FIA Sporting Regulations. Their verdict stated: "At the approach to Turn 1, Car 44 was travelling at a significantly reduced speed on the racing line while Car 81 was approaching on a push lap. Having examined the evidence, the Stewards determined that Car 44 unnecessarily impeded Car 81 during qualifying. We impose a three-place grid penalty on the driver of Car 44."
Hamilton explained he did not receive the team's radio message in time: "I was told literally when he was at the apex behind me. So I had no idea he was coming," he said in the post-qualifying press conference as reported by Crash.net.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur took responsibility: "We told him far too late and if there's a mistake it's our mistake," Vasseur told Sky Sports F1 as reported by Crash.net.
With the penalty, Hamilton drops from second to fifth on the starting grid, promoting Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc to the front row alongside Norris. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) also received a grid penalty for a yellow flag infringement, further reshaping the starting order for Sunday's race at 1500 local time.
Sources
- Crash.net: Lewis Hamilton slapped with Hungary F1 penalty for 'crazy' impeding (https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1101824/1/lewis-hamilton-slapped-hungary-f1-penalty-crazy-impeding)
- BBC Sport: Hungarian GP Qualifying Results (https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/latest)
