Another qualifying disappointment for Lewis Hamilton in Hungary: knocked out in Q2. Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q2 at the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Another early exit in qualifying

The difficult period for Lewis Hamilton in qualifying continues. After his double elimination in Q1 at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, where he failed to make it past the first cut in both the Sprint qualifying and the standard qualifying session, the British racing driver had to endure yet another setback in Budapest. Driving for Scuderia Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton could not go beyond the 12th fastest time in the second qualifying session (Q2), missing out on a place in the top 10 and thus failing to reach Q3. This result represents a particularly bitter pill to swallow, especially considering that the Hungaroring has historically been one of his strongest circuits, particularly in qualifying sessions.

Scuderia Ferrari appeared to take a step backward in terms of overall performance compared to what was shown in the free practice sessions, where the Italian team had clearly emerged as the second-strongest force on the grid, behind only McLaren. A noticeable drop in track temperatures seemed to negatively impact the performance of the Ferrari SF-25. While Charles Leclerc managed to partially overcome these issues and secure a place in Q3, Lewis Hamilton once again fell short of expectations.

Elimination by just a few thousandths of a second

It is worth noting that the former Mercedes driver was also somewhat unlucky during the session. His elimination from Q2 came by a razor-thin margin—just 15 thousandths of a second. In that incredibly tight gap, three drivers managed to slot in: Gabriel Bortoleto, who was the last driver to advance to Q3, along with the rookie duo of Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman, who finished 11th and 12th respectively and were also eliminated in the same session.

In modern Formula 1, where the performance margins are often extremely small, Lewis Hamilton ended up trailing his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc by around three-tenths of a second. While this time gap may seem modest, it has a significant impact in qualifying, often resulting in the difference of multiple grid positions. Unfortunately, this result does not provide an ideal scenario for Lewis Hamilton as he heads into the summer break, with performance and confidence both under pressure.