Lewis Hamilton finished fifth in the Hungarian Grand Prix after a five-second penalty for pitlane speeding, marking the third race in a row the seven-time world champion has been penalised by F1 stewards.
Hamilton, who started from fifth on the grid after being demoted for impeding Oscar Piastri in qualifying, made a third pit stop under Virtual Safety Car conditions with 14 laps to go. He was unable to overtake Max Verstappen or Kimi Antonelli, who stayed out. His pitlane speed exceeded the limit by 0.1km/h, resulting in the penalty.
Hamilton criticises Ferrari pit call
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Hamilton said: "I definitely don't think we should have taken the stop. The call came just before the pit lane entry and I didn't have time to debate it. You've got to trust the decision that has been taken but, in hindsight, my tyres were totally fine. I was probably going to lose out to Max, but I think I would have kept third at least. And it just opened up the door to the penalty that I got at the end."
Penalty streak continues
The penalty follows a false start at Silverstone and a five-second penalty for colliding with George Russell at Spa. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli has extended his advantage to 50 points.
Hamilton added: "I'm massively grateful to the team as they've done a really good job in this first half [of the season]. These last three races, for me, have not been great. Lots of mistakes, a mistake at Silverstone that cost dearly and then in the last race as well, and then this weekend. A lot of penalties in the last three races, so I've got to work hard to not give them any opportunities to give me any more penalties moving forwards."
