Hamilton Questions Ferrari Pit Stop After Losing Hungarian GP Track Position

Hamilton left puzzled by late Ferrari call

Lewis Hamilton has questioned Ferrari’s decision to pit him under a virtual safety car during the closing stages of the Hungarian Grand Prix, arguing that the stop surrendered valuable track position and ultimately cost him points.

The situation became more difficult when Hamilton was instructed to concede position to Antonelli. Replays showed that the Mercedes driver had been ahead at the pit-exit line when Hamilton returned to the circuit.

He added: “I would never have stopped if it meant that I was giving up track position. So I thought that that would not be the case.”

Strategy gamble turns into costly result

Hamilton accepted that staying out would probably have allowed Verstappen to pass him before the chequered flag, given the Red Bull driver’s fresher tyres. However, he believed remaining on track could still have produced a significantly better result.

“I think we probably would have lost out to Max, he was on fresher tyres, maybe in that last stint,” Hamilton said. “I may have been able to hold on to P2. He was catching me. But most likely it would have been P3 and it would have been much better.”

Instead, Hamilton finished fifth after receiving a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane during the stop. The penalty compounded the loss of track position and transformed a likely podium finish into a disappointing outcome for Ferrari.

The result adds to the team’s difficult Hungarian Grand Prix, a weekend covered in Ferrari’s Hungarian GP failure exposes the SF-26’s lack of consistency. For Hamilton, the immediate priority is understanding why the call was made so late and why Ferrari judged the stop to be worth surrendering second place.

“I was P2, I should have stayed out. I need to go see why the team pulled me in,” he said.