Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari driver given penalty and loses second on Hungarian GP grid after blocking Oscar Piastri

25.07.2026, 20:02 skysports.com

Lewis Hamilton has been relegated from second to fifth on the Hungarian Grand Prix grid after a penalty for blocking McLaren's Oscar Piastri at the end of qualifying.

Hamilton lost out on pole position to Lando Norris in the other McLaren by the narrowest of margins after failing to improve his provisional-pole time, but then soon found himself placed under investigation by stewards for an incident involving the other McLaren.

Hamilton had been the first of the leading drivers to complete his final lap - positioning he was left surprised by - and as he slowed down once he crossed the line, he appeared to block Piastri through Turn One as the McLaren started its final timed attempt behind him.

Stewards summoned both drivers after qualifying to review the incident and ultimately judged that Hamilton had unnecessarily impeded Piastri, handing him a three-place demotion.

As it stands, the penalty promotes Hamilton's Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc to second place on Sunday's grid behind Norris, world championship leader Kimi Antonelli moves up to third and Piastri to fourth.

Antonelli, though, is the subject of a separate stewards' investigation over an alleged failure to slow for yellow flags when Max Verstappen spun on his final Q3 lap at the final corner.

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Speaking before the penalty was confirmed, Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur said any blame fell on the team and not Hamilton.

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Vasseur told Sky Sports F1: "We told him [about Piastri] but it was far too late.

"If there's a mistake, it's our mistake."

More to follow...

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