Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of starting the Hungarian Grand Prix from the front row have been dealt a blow after Ferrari’s seven-time world champion was handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri during Saturday’s qualifying session.
Hamilton had originally secured second place on the grid behind pole-sitter Lando Norris, but the FIA stewards ruled that the Ferrari driver unnecessarily hindered Piastri during the final Q3 runs at the Hungaroring.
The incident occurred on the run toward Turn 1, where Hamilton was completing a slow lap after his qualifying attempt while Piastri approached at full speed on a flying lap. Unaware of the McLaren’s arrival until it was too late, Hamilton remained on the racing line, forcing Piastri to take avoiding action and abandon his final attempt.
The Australian responded with a sarcastic thumbs-up gesture as he passed the Ferrari, while Hamilton immediately questioned his team over why he had not been warned about the approaching McLaren.
Stewards blame Ferrari communication failure
After reviewing the incident, the stewards applied the standard three-place penalty, dropping Hamilton from second to fifth on Sunday’s grid. Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli and Piastri will each move up one position as a result.
In their verdict, the stewards explained why they considered Hamilton responsible for the obstruction:
"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," the stewards wrote.
"The driver of Car 44 explained that he had just completed a fast lap and did not receive the team's radio message regarding the approaching Car 81 until the latter was already in close proximity. He further stated that, due to the positioning of his car on the track, Car 81 was not visible in his mirrors.
"Car 81, which was on a push lap, was forced to take avoiding action by running wide and being obliged to abort the lap.
"Having examined the available evidence, the Stewards determined that Car 44 unnecessarily impeded Car 81 during qualifying."
Piastri frustrated, Ferrari accepts responsibility
Piastri made clear that the incident had cost him a chance to improve, although he acknowledged it was not a deliberate move by Hamilton.
"It was pretty bad," Piastri said. "I saw him from the start line, expecting him to get out of the way and I watched him basically all the way up until I nearly hit him. So, yeah, a shame."
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur accepted that the responsibility ultimately lay with the Scuderia’s communication rather than with Hamilton himself.
"We told him, but far too late. If there is a mistake, it's our mistake," he told Sky.
The penalty adds another twist to an already dramatic Hungarian qualifying session, which saw Lando Norris claim pole by just 0.012 seconds over Hamilton before the Ferrari driver’s grid position was revised.
Hamilton will now face a tougher challenge on Sunday as he attempts to fight back through a field packed with contenders at a circuit where overtaking has traditionally been notoriously difficult.
Read also: Hamilton honored as Hungaroring renames corners after F1 greats
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