Lewis Hamilton 'can't catch a break' after third penalty in three races at Hungarian GP

Lewis Hamilton’s frustrating run of form continued at the Hungarian Grand Prix after stewards handed him a three-place grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri during Q3. Having qualified just 0.012s shy of pole position behind Lando Norris, the Ferrari driver will now start fifth, marking his third penalty in as many race weekends.

Why it matters:

Hamilton narrowly missed out on top spot and appeared poised to mount a genuine front-row challenge before the infringement unravelled his session. The repeated penalties are becoming an unwelcome pattern that threatens to overshadow Ferrari's competitive step forward and Hamilton's own strong performances behind the wheel when it matters most.

The details:

• Stewards determined that Hamilton was travelling at a "significantly reduced speed on the racing line" as Piastri approached on a hot lap, forcing the McLaren driver to abort his effort.
• The ruling stated that "Car 44 unnecessarily impeded Car 81," resulting in a drop from second to fifth on the grid.
• Hamilton insisted the incident was unintentional, explaining that he was only alerted to Piastri's position when the Australian was already at the apex behind him.
• The Briton believed the track was clear because he was the first car to leave the pits and assumed the remaining runners had completed their laps.
• The penalty follows a five-second sanction for a false start at Silverstone and another five seconds for a collision with George Russell at Spa.

What's next:

Hamilton acknowledged the difficulty of staying positive after three successive setbacks but stressed that Ferrari is making genuine progress. With the car feeling competitive throughout the Hungaroring weekend, he will need a clean, trouble-free race from fifth on the grid to convert that promising pace into solid points and finally halt his recent run of misfortune.