F1 legend Lewis Hamilton tells Ferrari they got it wrong with Hungarian Grand Prix strategy

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton tells Ferrari they got it wrong with Hungarian Grand Prix strategy

It was a day to forget for Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 26 July 2026 19:45

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Ferrari F1 star Lewis Hamilton has said that his Ferrari team made a strategy error at the Hungarian Grand Prix, which prevented him from challenging for a podium.

With Hamilton running up in third, a late virtual safety car saw Ferrari call him into the pits in order to ditch his old hard tyres, and instead go onto the soft tyres.

It was a gamble which did not pay off, with Hamilton ending up picking up a five-second time penalty for speeding in the lane during that third pit stop, which completely counteracted the benefit of getting a cheap stop under the virtual safety car.

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In the end, it meant that Hamilton finished behind both championship rival Kimi Antonelli and team-mate Charles Leclerc, down in fifth as he lost yet more ground in the fight for the championship.

It means that, heading into the summer break, Hamilton is now 50 points behind Antonelli, despite seemingly having a much faster car than the young Italian this weekend in Hungary.

Now, Hamilton has rued the decision to try and take a cheap stop under the virtual safety car, with Hamilton suggesting that a podium finish was on if he hadn't have pitted.

Hamilton bemoans Ferrari pit stop decision

Hamilton was speaking to Sky Sports F1's Craig Slater after the race, when he hinted that Ferrari had made an error by calling him into the pits.

"Yeah, I definitely don't think we should have taken the stop," the seven-time champion said. "But the call came literally just before the pit lane entry, and I didn't have time to debate.

"And you've got to trust that there's a decision that's been taken, but in hindsight, my tyres were totally fine. I was probably going to lose out to Max, but I think I could have kept third at least, and then yeah, just opens up the door to all through the penalty they got here."

Hamilton was then asked if he was optimistic about his team's pace in the first half of the season.

"I definitely am," he said. "I'm massively grateful to to the team because they've really done a great job in this first half. I think the last three races for me have not been great. Lots of mistakes, mistake in Silverstone. That cost dearly, and then obviously in the last race as well. So yeah, and then this weekend. So a lot of penalties in the last three races."

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F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Hungarian Grand Prix