Lewis Hamilton stated that the podium slipped away at the Formula 1 Hungarian GP, following a mistaken strategic decision by Ferrari during the Virtual Safety Car period. The Briton believes he could have finished at least in third position.
The neutralization happened after Oscar Piastri’s retirement on lap 57, when Ferrari called Hamilton into the pits. The team opted to put him on new tires, but the decision ended up having significant consequences for the seven-time champion’s final result.
The weekend had already started complicated for the Briton. Hamilton had lost three positions on the starting grid after being penalized for impeding Piastri in the qualifying session, despite having recorded the second-best time, just 0.012s behind the race winner, Lando Norris.
After the stop, Hamilton lost second position to Max Verstappen and also got involved in a complicated situation with Kimi Antonelli. Although he returned to the track ahead of the Italian, he had to give the position back for having gained an advantage irregularly. To top it off, the Ferrari driver received a five-second penalty for exceeding the pit lane speed limit by just 0.1 km/h, dropping to fifth place in the final race standings.
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Speaking about the strategy, Hamilton made it clear that he did not agree with the team’s decision, but explained that there was no time to question it: “Definitely, I don’t think we should have made the stop. The call came literally just before the pit entry, and I didn’t have time to discuss it. You have to trust the decision made,” he told Sky F1.
The Briton believes his tires were still in good condition to last until the end of the race: “Looking back now, my tires were totally fine. I would probably have lost to Max (Verstappen), but I think I could have kept at least third place. Afterwards, that ended up opening the door for the penalty I received,” he added.
Despite the frustration, Hamilton emphasized that he maintains a positive outlook for the rest of the season. He acknowledged, however, that he needs to reduce recent errors: “I am very grateful to the team for their work in the first half of the year. But the last three races haven’t been good for me. There were many mistakes and many penalties, so I need to work hard not to give them any more opportunities to penalize me,” he concluded.
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