F1 2026: Hamilton calls Ferrari's decision-making at Hungarian Grand Prix 'pretty bad and frustrating'
Hamilton at pit stop during Hungarian Grand Prix Photograph: (AFP)
Hamilton was called into the pit lane for a tyre replacement when virtual safety car was on. He lost the track position because of the move and didn't like strategy one bit.
Lewis Hamilton has hit out a Ferrari's decision to pull him into the pit stop which ended up costing him a potential podium position in the Sunday's (Jul 26) Hungary Grand Prix. Hamilton was given five-second penalty for speeding in pit lane and finished fifth on the race leaderboard. He now trails 50 points to leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes in drivers' standing of the season. Antonelli, who finished the Sunday's race at third place, has 219 points while Hamilton, seven-time world champion, is second with 169 points.
Hamilton questions Ferrari's strategy in Hungarian Grand Prix
Hamilton was called into the pit lane for a tyre replacement when virtual safety car was on. He lost the track position because of the move and didn't like strategy one bit.
"It was pretty bad. Pretty frustrating," he said after the race. "I definitely don’t think we should have taken the stop but the call came literally just before the pit-lane entry and I didn’t have time to debate.
"I would never have stopped if it meant I was giving up track position. I may have been able to hold on to P2. He [Verstappen] was catching me but most likely it would have been P3 [in front of Antonelli] and it would have been much better. Instead, I lost a bunch of points."
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What next for Hamilton?
The F1 2026 season now goes into the break with the next race, Dutch Grand Prix, scheduled nearly a month later on August 23. Hamilton welcomed the break and said: "I’ll work hard to try and come back, reset. There’s still a lot of places to take. I’m going to try and make sure I don’t give them any reason to give any penalties moving forwards."
Hamilton is under pressure from Mercedes' George Russell who is just nine points behind on drivers' standings at 160 points on third place.
