Hamilton 3-place drop for impeding Piastri in qualifying
F1 · penalty · 2026-07-25
Lewis Hamilton was given a three-place grid penalty by FIA stewards after being found to have impeded Oscar Piastri at Turn 1 during Q3 at the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix. Hamilton had qualified second, just 0.012 seconds behind pole-sitter Lando Norris, but was immediately placed under investigation. Ferrari accepted responsibility, with Hamilton's race engineer acknowledging he was only informed that Piastri was behind him when the McLaren was already at the apex. The penalty dropped Hamilton from P2 to P5 on the starting grid.