HAMILTON HANDED THREE-PLACE GRID PENALTY AFTER HUNGARIAN GP QUALIFYING
Lewis Hamilton has been given a three-place grid penalty after qualifying for the 2026 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver was judged to have impeded McLaren’s Oscar Piastri during the final part of qualifying, with the stewards deciding that Hamilton unnecessarily blocked the Australian on a flying lap.
Hamilton had originally qualified second, missing pole position by just 0.012 seconds to Lando Norris in one of the closest qualifying sessions of the season. However, the penalty drops the seven-time world champion from P2 to P5 on the starting grid, ending Ferrari’s front-row lockout alongside Norris.
The incident happened late in Q3 when Hamilton had completed his lap and was driving slowly on the racing line. Oscar Piastri was approaching at full speed on his final qualifying attempt and was forced to react after finding the Ferrari ahead. Piastri immediately reported the situation over team radio, while the stewards launched an investigation as soon as the session ended. After reviewing video footage, telemetry, team radio and hearing from both teams, they concluded that Hamilton had impeded the McLaren driver and applied the standard three-place grid penalty.
Hamilton admitted after qualifying that he was unsure whether he had affected another driver because he had not received enough warning over the radio. Ferrari argued that communication between the team and the driver came too late, but the stewards ruled that the responsibility remained with the driver to avoid impeding another car.
The penalty changes the front of the starting grid. Lando Norris will still start from pole position, while Charles Leclerc moves up to second and championship leader Kimi Antonelli inherits third. Oscar Piastri also gains a position and will now start fourth, with Hamilton lining up fifth instead of alongside Norris on the front row.
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