Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli have received grid penalties ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, altering the starting order for the race. Hamilton was initially set to start second but will now begin the race from fifth position. Mercedes driver Antonelli, who qualified fourth, will start seventh.
The penalties mean that Lando Norris of McLaren will start from pole position. Hamilton’s penalty promoted his teammate Charles Leclerc to the front row in second place. Oscar Piastri moved up to third, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen taking over fourth after originally qualifying sixth.
Hamilton’s penalty for impeding Piastri
Hamilton received a three-place grid demotion for impeding Piastri at the end of Q3. The incident occurred after Hamilton completed his final lap and slowed down, appearing to block Piastri through Turn One as the McLaren driver began his own final timed attempt. Stewards reviewed the incident and determined that Hamilton had unnecessarily impeded Piastri.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur stated that the team was responsible for the incident, not Hamilton, as they had warned him about Piastri too late. Hamilton also commented that he was unaware Piastri was approaching until it was too late, and that the situation was unintentional.
Hamilton had held provisional pole from Norris by one tenth of a second after the first timed laps in Q3. He was the first car sent out for the final runs, a decision he found surprising. Norris later improved his time to secure pole position by 0.012s.
Hamilton expressed disappointment, noting that he did not improve on his final lap and that the car had the potential for pole. He also mentioned that he had received penalties in the previous two races in Britain and Belgium, making it difficult to maintain positivity despite the team’s progress.
Antonelli’s penalty for yellow flag infringement
In a separate incident, Antonelli was penalised for failing to slow down sufficiently for yellow flags. This occurred when Verstappen spun at the final corner of the Hungaroring. Stewards investigated and found that while Antonelli did lift off the throttle, his speed was slightly higher than on his previous push lap.
The stewards concluded that Antonelli’s reduction in speed was insufficient and unsustained. Although a five-place grid demotion is standard for this type of infringement, the penalty was reduced to three places due to the mitigation that he had slowed to some extent.
Antonelli explained that the yellow flag appeared as he was entering the corner, and he tried to lift, which he did, losing some minimum speed. He leads Hamilton by 45 points and George Russell by 50 points in the Drivers’ Championship. The 70-lap race on Sunday is the final event before the Formula 1 summer break.
Norris’ pole position offers an opportunity to make amends for a strategic mis-step in Miami earlier in the year. McLaren’s team principal Andrea Stella described Norris’ pole as an “overachievement,” attributing it to McLaren’s execution and an under-performance from Ferrari, and potentially Antonelli and Mercedes.
The Hungarian Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday, July 26, with build-up from 12:30pm and the race starting at 2pm.
Source: skysports.com
As News-UK's Sports News Writer, Oscar Pennington reports on rugby union, golf and boxing for readers across the country. He built a reputation for sharp explainer pieces on regional sport. He holds a degree in Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and completed an NCTJ diploma. Oscar lives in Nottingham, where he follows the pro golf tour and amateur boxing. “Context is what turns a result into a story.”
