Ferrari’s troubled 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix produced one final paradox after the chequered flag, as Lewis Hamilton’s five-second penalty allowed Charles Leclerc to take fourth place and two championship points from his team-mate. Lewis Hamilton crossed the line ahead of Charles Leclerc at the Hungaroring, but his pit-lane speeding penalty reversed the order of the two SF-26 cars in the final Hungarian GP classification.
Ferrari informed Charles Leclerc about his team-mate’s penalty, and the Monegasque finished close enough to move ahead by just seven-tenths of a second once the sanction was applied. Lewis Hamilton took the chequered flag 4.3 seconds in front, but that advantage was insufficient to retain fourth place.
The penalty was incurred during the pit stop under Virtual Safety Car conditions that the seven-time world champion had questioned. Charles Leclerc consequently collected 12 points, while Lewis Hamilton scored 10. The two points simply moved from one Ferrari driver to the other, leaving the team’s constructors’ championship total unchanged but having a direct impact on the drivers’ standings.
Ferrari tells Charles Leclerc about Lewis Hamilton’s penalty
During the closing laps, Ferrari told Charles Leclerc over team radio: “Lewis has a five-second penalty.” The pit wall then continued updating him on the gap to the No. 44 car ahead.
Charles Leclerc increased his pace and finished 4.3 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton, which was close enough to move ahead once the five-second pit-lane speeding penalty was applied. Ferrari issued no instruction to freeze the positions or protect Lewis Hamilton’s advantage.
Lewis Hamilton was therefore demoted to fifth, while Charles Leclerc moved up to fourth and gained two points on his team-mate in the world championship.
From a regulatory perspective, there was nothing unusual about the outcome. Charles Leclerc secured fourth place by capitalising on an infringement committed by Lewis Hamilton. However, Ferrari’s decision becomes more debatable when viewed in the context of the championship standings.
Lewis Hamilton was and remains Kimi Antonelli’s nearest challenger, while Charles Leclerc is further behind and has significantly less chance of re-entering the title battle.
Ferrari does not protect Lewis Hamilton in Kimi Antonelli title fight
Kimi Antonelli left Budapest with 219 points, ahead of Lewis Hamilton on 169 and Charles Leclerc on 138. By allowing the order of the two Ferraris to be reversed, the gap between Lewis Hamilton and the championship leader increased from 48 to 50 points.
Ferrari’s overall points haul would have remained identical had Lewis Hamilton retained fourth place ahead of Charles Leclerc. The Maranello team could have asked Charles Leclerc to remain more than five seconds behind, but chose not to impose team orders.
It was a formally defensible position, especially because the penalty resulted from an infringement committed by Lewis Hamilton. Politically, however, the decision was significant: Ferrari still do not appear ready to base every strategic choice around their best-placed driver in the championship.
After calling Lewis Hamilton in for a stop that he considered unnecessary, costing him a podium opportunity and creating the circumstances that led to the penalty, the Ferrari pit wall did not protect his virtual fourth place either. It became another entry on the list of decisions that left Ferrari outside the Hungaroring podium and raised a further question: does Maranello truly believe Lewis Hamilton can still challenge Kimi Antonelli for the title?
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