Lewis Hamilton will start fifth on the grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix after receiving a three-place penalty for inadvertently impeding McLaren’s Oscar Piastri during qualifying.
Hamilton had appeared set for pole position before Lando Norris snatched the top spot with a late lap, beating the Ferrari driver by 0.012 seconds to claim his first pole of the season. Hamilton was then summoned to the stewards and demoted from second to fifth.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who had qualified fourth, was briefly elevated to third as a result. But Antonelli was then handed his own three-place penalty for failing to slow under yellow flags caused by Max Verstappen spinning his Red Bull, dropping the Italian to seventh on the grid.
Hamilton said his team had not warned him that Piastri was approaching from behind, and he was critical of Ferrari’s decision to send him out first in the session. “We have been doing a great job all weekend,” he said. “I felt solid throughout qualifying and, for some reason, we went out first, which I don’t think was the right call. For some reason, the grip wasn’t there then.”
Hamilton sits 45 points behind Antonelli in the championship standings after 10 rounds. His Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc qualified third and was promoted to second following the penalties.
George Russell had a difficult session for Mercedes, qualifying seventh before abandoning his car on the way into the pits with a water leak. He will start sixth after the reshuffled grid, fitted with a new engine for the race.
