Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Lewis Hamilton’s front-row result for the Hungarian Grand Prix was left in doubt after Ferrari’s driver was called to the stewards over an alleged impeding incident with Oscar Piastri at Turn 1 in Q3, moments after missing pole to Lando Norris by just 0.012s.
Hamilton had qualified second on the road at the Hungaroring, but the investigation quickly became the dominant story of the session. Multiple reports said he was summoned to the stewards at 18:00 after appearing to remain on the racing line just as Piastri began his final flying lap, forcing the McLaren driver to abandon or heavily compromise the attempt.
Piastri, who ended qualifying fifth on the provisional grid, made clear he believed the incident cost him a shot at a much stronger starting position. “Lewis wasn’t looking in his mirrors,” he said after the session. He also said the yellow flag triggered later by Max Verstappen’s spin did not affect him because he had already passed that point, leaving Hamilton as the reason he could not complete a proper final lap.
Hamilton said he was unaware Piastri was arriving behind him. In his post-qualifying media session, he said Ferrari told him “literally when he was at the apex behind me,” adding: “I had no idea he was coming. I thought everyone had finished their lap.” He said he believed the car behind him when he left the pits had been Charles Leclerc and insisted the incident was not intentional.
The likely consequence is a three-place grid penalty, the usual sanction discussed across the post-session reaction. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said that outcome would move Piastri up from fifth to fourth. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur said it would also promote Leclerc by one place, while adding that Ferrari would not need to radically change its race plan if the penalty was applied.
That looming penalty overshadowed what had already been a frustrating qualifying for Ferrari. Hamilton had led after the first Q3 runs and Ferrari looked fast enough to challenge for pole throughout the session, only for neither Hamilton nor Leclerc to improve on their final attempts while Norris did.
Hamilton was openly critical of Ferrari’s call to send both cars out first for the final Q3 runs. He said, “We have been doing a great job all weekend. I felt solid throughout qualifying and, for some reason, we went out first, which I don’t think was the right call.” He added that the grip “wasn’t there on that last lap for both Charles and me” and admitted Ferrari had let a big opportunity slip.
If the stewards follow the usual line on impeding, Hamilton’s near-pole will turn into a damaged grid position, Ferrari will lose its front-row lockout chance, and Piastri will recover one place before Sunday’s race even begins.