Two months spent in close contact with the stewards
In the end, Lewis Hamilton vented on social media. A human and understandable reaction after the stewards in Hungary had handed him his third penalty in the last three race weekends, and his fourth in six going back in a season that for the seven-time world champion is one of rebirth, but in which unexpected obstacles are still not lacking. In Budapest, the Ferrari driver had qualified on the front row but will have to start in fifth place due to a three-position grid drop for impeding Oscar Piastri. An obvious penalty, the responsibility for which, however, according to Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, was more with the team than with Hamilton.
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This very element seems to tie together all the penalties that have been handed to the Brit in the last two months: his responsibilities seem truly minimal. Yet, without much fault, Hamilton has lost important championship points due to these penalties that would certainly have allowed him to be even closer to Kimi Antonelli in the standings.
The chaos of Monaco
It all began in Monaco, when Hamilton was one of the victims of the rain of penalties for an alleged speeding in the pit-lane. Penalties that later proved to be incorrect, as evidenced by the return of the podium to Pierre Gasly, but which it had been impossible to revoke for those drivers (like Hamilton) who had regularly served the penalty during the race. A paradox that, however, did not prevent Hamilton from taking home second position right behind Antonelli: this was probably the least damaging penalty for his standings.
The early start at Silverstone
After the victory in Barcelona and fifth place in Austria – in two quiet weekends from a disciplinary point of view – Silverstone arrived: here Hamilton suffered a five-second penalty for a very slight movement made on the starting grid a few moments before the lights went out. Despite not having gained any advantage from the incident, the stewards punished the Ferrari driver, taking him out of contention for the victory, which then went to his teammate Charles Leclerc. The chaos caused by the Safety Car entry and the Ferrari team’s decision to bring him into the pits in the final laps then caused him to lose another three precious points in a weekend where Antonelli had retired.
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The Spa disappointment
Finally, there was the Spa-Francorchamps incident: the five-second penalty he was given for the contact with George Russell on the first lap raised many eyebrows. Even Mercedes admitted that the incident was a ‘simple’ racing incident. Without that penalty and the consequent prolonged pit stop, including an involuntary collision with a mechanic, Hamilton would certainly have been on the podium and would probably have joined the battle between Antonelli and Leclerc for the victory. In this case too, therefore, at least three points were left on the table.
How many points lost
It is not reckless to say that Hamilton has lost, almost never due to his own responsibility, at least between 6 and 10 points because of these penalties, so far. A haul that certainly would have been very useful at the end of the year.
Regarding the penalty received in qualifying in Budapest, it is still impossible to quantify it in terms of points lost. However, starting fifth instead of second on a track famous for the difficulty in allowing drivers to overtake on track does not represent an encouraging path. And the Antonelli-Mercedes duo, meanwhile, thanks him.
