Lewis Hamilton issues apology for attitude to F1 media

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton issues apology for attitude to F1 media

Lewis Hamilton suffered a disappointing weekend in Hungary

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 1 August 2026 08:13

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Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton offered an apology at the Hungarian Grand Prix after how he had treated sections of the media.

Hamilton suffered a dismal weekend in Hungary which was book ended by two FIA penalties.

Having qualified up in second for the race, Hamilton was later pushed down to fifth, having been adjudged by stewards to have 'unnecessarily impeded' McLaren's Oscar Piastri during qualifying.

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While the Brit battled hard up to third in the race on Sunday, a late pit stop during a virtual safety car period saw him lose that place to championship rival Kimi Antonelli, before he was later flagged for speeding in the pit lane during that late pit stop.

Hamilton was handed a five-second time penalty for the offence, which dropped him down to fifth behind team-mate Charles Leclerc after the chequered flag.

All in all, it meant that Hamilton lost yet more ground to Antonelli in the drivers' championship battle, despite looking to have had a faster car than the Italian throughout the weekend.

Hamilton has now received four penalties in the last three grand prix weekends, and admitted after the Hungarian Grand Prix that his mistakes were proving costly in the fight for the championship.

Hamilton apologises to media

But, interestingly, during the weekend, Hamilton also apologised to media for his attitude during his post-qualifying interviews.

Hamilton had not yet been given the grid drop by race stewards for the incident with Piastri, but he seemed distracted knowing that he still had to visit the stewards' room, and was pretty deflated about the incident.

Ahead of the race at the Hungaroring, Hamilton took the time to apologise for those interviews, appearing much more upbeat for what Sunday had in store for him.

"Yesterday was really difficult," Hamilton told F1TV ahead of Sunday's race. "Forgive me for my attitude after [qualifying].

"I had done such a great session and then I got a call right at the last minute so, to then know I was gonna get a penalty was tough to swallow. But it is what it is, you move forwards and I’ll give it absolutely everything for the team today."

What happened during Sunday's race was unlikely to have improved his mood, however, and Hamilton heads into the summer break with a 50-point deficit to Antonelli in the championship, and much to ponder.