FIA announce Lewis Hamilton PENALTY at F1 Belgian Grand Prix

lewis hamilton, ferrari, 2025, sad — Photo: © IMAGO

Belgian Grand Prix

FIA announce Lewis Hamilton PENALTY at Belgian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has endured a miserable weekend in Belgium

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Sunday 27 July 2025 12:53

Lewis Hamilton's Belgian Grand Prix weekend has already been a disaster but now the Ferrari star has been hit by an FIA punishment before F1 goes racing at Spa on Sunday.

The British racing legend has had a miserable time in Belgium so far, being eliminated in both the sprint qualifying and main qualifying - having also been only able to finish 15th in Saturday's sprint race.

But now the seven-time world champion will be forced to start from the pit-lane after Ferrari changed a raft of engine components on his car that have breached Formula One sporting regulations.

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By taking on a new power unit, turbocharger, two different motor generators and an energy store along with new control electronics - Hamilton has breached his season allocation on each of them.

The 40-year-old's Ferrari has also had its suspension changed with all mentioned breaking parc ferme rules without the FIA's consent.

Lewis Hamilton has struggled this weekend for Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari hit with penalty

As a result, Hamilton will now have to start the event from the pit-lane but it could prove a masterstroke move for Ferrari.

Hamilton had already qualified in a miserable 16th place among the 20 drivers having had his quickest recorded lap deleted during Saturday's Q1 qualifying session.

But the expected wet weather in Spa materialised on Sunday, and with it the possibility of safety car running during the race has increased significantly given the treacherous conditions drivers will face in the difficult conditions.

Hamilton has often proven an excellent racer in the wet and with a fresh batch of parts on his car and setup tweaks made could take full advantage on Sunday afternoon in his attempts to drive through the chasing pack from the back.

It wasn't just Hamilton and Ferrari who broke parc ferme though to make similar changes. Mercedes and Aston Martin have also made engine component changes to their car with respective drivers Kimi Antonelli and Fernando Alonso, with both also requiring to start from the pitlane.

Out in front it's a McLaren front-row lockout for the race with Lando Norris pipping team-mate Oscar Piastri to pole position, with Hamilton's Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc leading the second row in front of world champion Max Verstappen.

F1 Qualifying Results: Belgian Grand Prix 2025

Position	Driver	Team	Time/Status
1	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:40.562
2	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+0.085
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.338
4	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	+0.341
5	Alex Albon	Williams	+0.639
6	George Russell	Mercedes	+0.698
7	Yuki Tsunoda	Red Bull	+0.722
8	Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls	+0.748
9	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+0.766
10	Gabriel Bortoleto	Sauber	+1.825
11	Esteban Ocon	Haas	Eliminated in Q2
12	Ollie Bearman	Haas	Eliminated in Q2
13	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	Eliminated in Q2
14	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	Eliminated in Q2
15	Carlos Sainz	Williams	Eliminated in Q2
16	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	Eliminated in Q1
17	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	Eliminated in Q1
18	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	Eliminated in Q1
19	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	Eliminated in Q1
20	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	Eliminated in Q1

QUALIFYING RESULTS: Hamilton in DOUBLE Belgian GP embarrassment as McLaren dominate

Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

View full biography

Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Ferrari FIA Belgian Grand Prix Spa