Lewis Hamilton has blasted the FIA stewards after receiving his fourth penalty in three races.
The Ferrari driver picked up a couple of penalties over the weekend in Hungary, saying over the radio the stewards were “handing out penalties like crazy”.
The 41-year-old sits 50 points behind Kimi Antonelli into the summer break after his fifth-place finish over the weekend.
Commenting on the number of penalties he has been receiving, the seven-time world champion said: “Silverstone was my fault at the start. At the last race, even the driver I collided with said it was a racing incident, and they gave me a penalty. That was not needed. And that’s cost me a lot of points.
“Yesterday was unfortunate. I take responsibility, I should have looked in my mirrors. It was a communication error.
“I will work hard to come back, and reset. I have to make sure I don’t give them a reason to give me any more penalties.”
The Ferrari driver felt his team made the wrong call by pitting him a third time during a late virtual safety car window, surrendering track position while running in second place.
He was overtaken by Max Verstappen and title rival Antonelli before receiving a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit-lane.
Lewis Hamilton has made his feelings clear about the stewards’ decisions
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The subsequent penalty dropped him behind his teammate Charles Leclerc, with Hamilton emotively saying how “every point counts”.
When questioned on whether he had missed an opportunity in the title race, he said: “Yes. I’m not really sure why we stopped at the end.
“I got the call right at the pit-lane entry, and I didn’t have time to debate it. You put your faith in the team.
“I would never have stopped if it meant I’d give up track position. We should have stayed out. I need to go and see why the team pulled me in.
Lewis Hamilton questioned his team’s decision to bring him in during the virtual safety car window
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“We probably would have lost out to Max because he was on fresher tyres.
“But I may have been able to hold on to second. We’ve lost a whole bunch of points. It was pretty bad, pretty frustrating.”
The sport now heads for its summer break before the next round in the Netherlands on August 23.
A dozen races remain, with Antonelli leading the way in pursuit of his first world title.
Five things to know about Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton | GETTY/GB NEWS
Hamilton, chasing a record-breaking eighth world championship, insisted he and the team need to “keep on pushing”.
He said: “From my side, the second half is usually a much stronger period for me, so I will take this time to come back stronger, fitter and better.”
Lando Norris claimed his first victory of 2026 yesterday as the world champion looks to make a surge up the drivers’ championship, currently sitting in fifth.
