Why has Hamilton received so many penalties and what have they cost him? — SkimNews
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- Lewis Hamilton has received four stewards' penalties in the last three F1 race weekends — an unusually high concentration — prompting him to radio during the Hungarian GP that stewards were 'handing out penalties like crazy'.
- Hamilton was given a five-second penalty at the British Grand Prix for creeping forward before the lights went out, but he still finished third and likely lost no points.
- Hamilton was judged 'wholly at fault' for a collision with George Russell on the opening lap at the Belgian Grand Prix, costing him a likely podium; Russell himself called the contact a 'racing incident'.
- Hamilton took a three-grid-place qualifying penalty at the Hungarian Grand Prix for impeding Oscar Piastri, dropping him from second to fifth on the grid on a day Ferrari had genuine victory pace.
- Hamilton then picked up another penalty in the Hungarian GP itself for exceeding the 80kph pit-lane speed limit by just 0.1kph, finishing fourth and losing up to three further points.
- Hamilton now sits 50 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, though the source notes that without the impeding penalty he could have been within 40 points with a real shot at winning in Budapest.
- Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 he would 'try to make sure I don't give them any reason to penalise me' heading into the Dutch Grand Prix after the summer break.
Why it matters: Hamilton trails championship leader Antonelli by 50 points with penalties costing him an estimated six in-race points — but the qualifying impeding in Budapest is where the real damage lies, costing him a likely front-row start on Ferrari's strongest pace day. With the title race now requiring Hamilton to eliminate unforced errors while chasing a record-breaking eighth crown, the team-mate (Leclerc) he is racing against is being outscored by the driver he once mentored.
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