Martin Brundle highlighted the moment of the weekend that cost Lewis Hamilton a pivotal podium at the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix.
It was a weekend of frustration for Hamilton. The seven-time World Champion faced two penalties and narrowly missed out on a crucial podium ahead of his championship rival, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. However, Martin Brundle highlighted the exact moment that cost Hamilton a shot at Hungarian glory.
The Briton crossed the line in fourth at the Hungaroring, just eight tenths behind Antonelli. However, the result did not stand, as a five-second penalty for exceeding the pit lane speed limit by just 0.1kph pushed Hamilton back to fifth in the final classification. The penalty promoted his teammate Charles Leclerc to third.
The penalty capped off a difficult weekend for the seven-time World Champion, who had already received a three-place grid drop after qualifying.
Hamilton originally secured second on the grid, missing pole position by only 0.012 seconds to Lando Norris, but was penalised for impeding Oscar Piastri during the closing stages of Q3.
Brundle believes, however, that Hamilton’s qualifying penalty was not the defining moment of his weekend.
Writing in his Sky Sports F1 column, the driver argued that Ferrari’s pace throughout practice suggested Hamilton had every chance of fighting for victory before the setbacks began.
“Ferrari had looked the team to beat throughout practice. Most folk in the paddock thought they were favourites even though Norris pipped them to pole,” he wrote.
“Hamilton had smartly saved a brand new set of soft tyres by clearing the first stage of qualifying on Medium tyres.”
“These would have been extremely handy from his front-row grid slot. But he attracted a three-place grid drop from a rather brutal but unintentional blocking of another driver.”
A pit lane battle that changed the race
Despite recovering well from his grid penalty, Hamilton’s hopes of securing a podium ultimately unravelled during his final pit stop.
The Ferrari driver emerged alongside Antonelli under Virtual Safety Car conditions. As the pair raced towards the Safety Car line Hamilton was ahead. However, the Briton was instructed to hand the position back to Antonelli.
Brundle believes Hamilton’s attempt to gain that crucial track position ultimately proved decisive, with Hamilton releasing his pit lane speed limiter too early in order to secure a crucial advantage.
“It turns out Lewis did release the speed limiter a fraction early in order to beat Kimi Antonelli, who was on track, to the all-important Safety Car line which crosses the entire track and which decides who has the right to be in front, the driver exiting the pits, or the driver on track.”
“It was declared that Antonelli was there a fraction earlier, and so Hamilton had to yield anyway.
Hamilton’s split-second decision resulted in him exceeding the pit lane speed limit by just 0.1kph. Resulting in a five-second penalty that ultimately dropped Hamilton from fourth to fifth after the chequered flag.
Brundle believes the stewards were right to penalise the Ferrari driver. Because however marginal the infringement, it was made while attempting to gain a competitive advantage.
“It was a pivotal moment for the final podium place. And therefore the decision that speeding in the pit lane was a potentially competitive advantage was correct, however small the margin.”
Despite the difficult weekend for the Ferrari driver, he remains second in the championship. Hamilton, who sits 50 points behind, will be looking for a strong start to the second half of the season.
READ MORE: Ferrari list Lewis Hamilton ‘succession of mistakes’ during F1 Hungarian GP
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