Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari driver admits ‘lots of mistakes’ after new penalty at Hungarian GP but questions over final pit stop | F1 News

Lewis Hamilton feels his third pit stop at the Hungarian Grand Prix was unnecessary and “opened the door” to his latest costly penalty – despite saying the sanction for pit-lane speed was due to him making “a lot of mistakes” in recent races.

Hamilton took second place in the race from Oscar Piastre when the virtual safety car was introduced on lap 56 due to the McLaren stopping at the side of the track with a technical problem.

Ferrari opted to pit Hamilton for a third time as the cars on the track ran at controlled speeds but he lost track position to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who did not pit, and eventual Mercedes title challenger Kimi Antonelli also had to drop back once he rejoined the track, relegating him to fourth for the closing laps.

To complicate matters, Hamilton was then placed under investigation by the stewards for pit-lane speeding. A five-second penalty was soon imposed after the Ferrari was found to have exceeded the 80kph speed limit by 0.1kph.

Unable to find a way past Antonelli, who made his second pit stop just before the VSC, Hamilton was also unable to build up a five-second buffer to team-mate Charles Leclerc, and so the sister Ferrari was relegated to fifth in the final classification after a penalty after the checkered flag.

Asked later if he regretted pitting under VSC, Hamilton said Sky Sports F1: “Yeah, I definitely don’t think we should have stopped.

“But the call came literally just before the pit lane entry and I didn’t have time to debate and you have to believe the decision that was made.

“Waiting, my tires were perfectly fine. I was probably going to lose to Max but I think I could have at least finished third.

“Then that opened the door obviously with the penalty I got at the end.”

‘My last three races haven’t been great’ – Hamilton vows to cut penalty after summer break

The pit-lane speeding sanction represented Hamilton’s second steward’s penalty in as many days at the Hungaroring as he was handed a three-place grid drop for impeding Piastre at the end of Q3.

It dropped the 41-year-old from second to fifth on Sunday’s grid.

He had already been given a five-second penalty in each of the previous two races.

In Belgium last week, the seven-time world champion was given a time penalty for a collision with George Russell on the opening lap, while a fortnight before Silverstone he was given the same sanction for a jump race start.

The Briton’s fifth place finish on Sunday meant he fell further points behind Antonelli in the drivers’ championship, with the Italian holding a 50-point advantage as F1 breaks for the summer.

Hamilton remains the Mercedes driver’s closest rival and says he is optimistic about Ferrari’s prospects for the rest of the season. He admitted, however, that he needed to avoid any further stewards’ punishment.

“I’m certainly (optimistic),” Hamilton said. “I’m massively grateful to the team because they did a really great job in this first half.

“I think my last three races weren’t great. A lot of mistakes. A mistake at Silverstone that cost a lot. Then obviously also in the last race (in Belgium). And then this weekend.

“So a lot of penalties in the last three races, so I have to work hard not to give them any more penalties at the front.”

The Formula 1 season resumes after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix from August 21-23, with every session live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – no contract, cancel anytime