Lewis Hamilton just threw some serious shade at Ferrari’s pit wall after the Hungarian Grand Prix—and he’s not holding back on what went wrong. The seven-time F1 champion says his own team’s decision cost him a shot at the podium.
Running comfortably in third place, Hamilton was called into the pits during a late virtual safety car. Ferrari’s gamble: swap old hard tires for fresh soft rubber. But the move backfired badly.
Hamilton picked up a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane during that stop. That penalty wiped out any advantage from the cheap tire change and dropped him to fifth place at the finish line.
According to Hamilton, the result could have been very different. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he made it clear the call came too late to question.
“Yeah, I definitely don’t think we should have taken the stop,” Hamilton told reporters. “The call came literally just before the pit lane entry, and I didn’t have time to debate.”
He explained that his old tires felt fine and that he probably would have lost only to Max Verstappen—but still held third. Instead, the pit stop opened the door for both Kimi Antonelli and his own teammate Charles Leclerc to jump ahead.
The finish leaves Hamilton a staggering 50 points behind championship leader Antonelli heading into the summer break. And he admits the last three races have been rough.
“Lots of mistakes, mistake in Silverstone—that cost dearly,” Hamilton said. “And then obviously in the last race as well. So yeah, a lot of penalties in the last three races.”
Despite the frustration, Hamilton made a point to thank his team for their work this season. He says he still believes in the car’s pace.
So with Ferrari’s strategy under fire and Hamilton’s title hopes slipping, what’s the real story behind those pit-lane calls?
