Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari team has accepted responsibility for him being hit with a three-place grid drop for the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix after accidentally blocking Oscar Piastri at the beginning of the McLaren driver’s final push lap.
It’s a double blow for Hamilton, who parked in the number one spot in parc ferme, unaware that he had been relieved of pole position by Piastri’s team-mate Lando Norris after the chequered flag.
Hamilton’s second Q3 lap was scrappier than his first and slower, 1m18.906s compared with his earlier 1m17.219s. Just after the Ferrari crossed the line, Max Verstappen spun at the final corner, bringing out yellow flags.
This is what triggered the miscommunication. Hamilton appeared to be surprised by the fact that Piastri was on a push lap, even though he had passed him between Turns 12 and 13 while the Australian was on his prep lap.
“We told him [Piastri was coming], but far too late,” said Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur afterwards. “If there is a mistake, it’s our mistake.”
After Hamilton crossed the line, race engineer Carlo Santi told him, “Piastri pushing… yellow flag, yellow flag.”
“Where’s Piastri?” asked Hamilton.
“Behind – yellow flag” came the answer.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
The onboard video indicates Hamilton looking in his mirror before taking his normal line into Turn 1, but he subsequently explained to the stewards that he failed to see Piastri. Although the video is accompanied by the team radio, there is an offset because F1 delays team radio broadcasts by between five and 15 seconds in case editorial decisions are required for bad language.
In this case, the radio traffic was broadcast after Hamilton had baulked Piastri into Turn 1, when in fact the conversation will have taken place between the timing line and Turn 1.
“Was Piastri on a lap or…?” asked Hamilton after Piastri passed him. After a long pause, Santi replied, “I was caught by the yellow.”
It appears Hamilton assumed Piastri was on an in-lap rather than preparing for a push lap.
“I was told literally when he was at the apex behind me, so I had no idea he was coming,” said Hamilton afterwards.
“I thought everyone came out behind me – I was the first out, so I thought everyone had finished their lap, and I think Charles was the car that was behind me when I left the pitlane, so as far as I was aware. So yeah, crazy, because it had been clean and obviously it wasn’t intentional.”
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images
Since Piastri was forced to abort his push lap, a penalty was inevitable. Hamilton will therefore start from fifth – the third row of the grid rather than the front.
“The driver of Car 44 explained that he had just completed a fast lap and did not receive the team’s radio message regarding the approaching Car 81 until the latter was already in close proximity,” said the stewards’ finding.
“He further stated that, due to the positioning of his car on the track, Car 81 was not visible in his mirrors.”
