Martin Brundle reacts to Lewis Hamilton’s Belgian GP crash, penalty and pit-lane scare. Martin Brundle says Lewis Hamilton may have felt relieved to retain fourth at Spa.

Martin Brundle believes Lewis Hamilton may have experienced the unusual feeling of being relieved with fourth place after a turbulent 2026 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver endured an FP3 crash, a rebuilt car, an opening-lap collision, a five-second penalty and a frightening pit-stop incident before eventually retaining his position in the final classification.

Ferrari was fined rather than receiving a sporting penalty for the unsafe release that resulted in Lewis Hamilton’s car striking a mechanic. That decision ensured the 41-year-old kept fourth place, just 1.743 seconds ahead of McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, after a weekend in which several setbacks came from his own errors and others were outside his control.

Lewis Hamilton’s Belgian GP problems began with his FP3 crash

Lewis Hamilton’s difficult Spa-Francorchamps weekend changed dramatically during the closing stages of final practice. A small mistake through the middle of the Fagnes chicane sent the seven-time Formula 1 world champion wide onto the dirt before his Ferrari hit the barrier.

The accident left Ferrari facing a substantial repair job before qualifying. The team replaced the floor, rear wing and gearbox on Lewis Hamilton’s SF-26, enabling him to return to the track and qualify sixth. However, Lewis Hamilton subsequently indicated that the rebuilt car did not inspire the same confidence he had felt before the crash.

Any realistic prospect of making major progress from sixth on the grid was then compromised during the opening lap of the race. Lewis Hamilton made contact with George Russell and sent the Mercedes driver into a spin, ending George Russell’s Belgian Grand Prix. The stewards held Lewis Hamilton responsible and imposed a five-second time penalty.

The collision also damaged the Ferrari, with the source reporting that Lewis Hamilton lost 10 points of downforce as a result. That performance loss made his eventual recovery to fourth even more notable, although it remains impossible to determine precisely what he might have achieved with an undamaged car and a clean race.

How Ferrari’s delayed front-wing instruction caused the pit-stop incident

Lewis Hamilton’s five-second penalty later contributed to the sequence of events behind the alarming incident in the Ferrari pit box. The team brought both cars in, with Charles Leclerc also making a stop, while Lewis Hamilton first had to remain stationary for five seconds before the mechanics could begin working on his car.

Ferrari had also been asked to alter Lewis Hamilton’s front-wing setting after fitting a different tyre compound. The requested change was 0.6 degrees, but the instruction was communicated to the relevant mechanic too late. Ferrari issued the signal for Lewis Hamilton to leave after all four tyres had been changed, just as the mechanic moved in front of the right-front wheel to attempt the adjustment.

Lewis Hamilton followed the green light and began to leave the pit box, causing the front-right tyre to strike the mechanic. The Ferrari driver stopped immediately and waited until the crew member was clear. The mechanic was not injured, and Ferrari later confirmed his condition following the pit-lane scare.

The incident also meant Ferrari could not complete the requested adjustment. The consequences of that missed change and its effect on Lewis Hamilton’s balance are examined in a detailed analysis of the front-wing problem that compromised his Spa race pace.

Ferrari fined as Lewis Hamilton avoids further Belgian GP penalty

The stewards investigated the unsafe release after the race but concluded that Lewis Hamilton was not responsible. Ferrari was instead fined €30,000, approximately £25,500, with €10,000, around £8,500, suspended for 12 months.

Officials accepted that the situation had been made more complicated by Lewis Hamilton’s five-second penalty, Charles Leclerc’s stop and the delayed communication concerning the front-wing adjustment. The team had already given Lewis Hamilton permission to leave when the mechanic moved into his path.

The ruling was significant because another time penalty could have cost Lewis Hamilton fourth position. A further five seconds would have dropped him behind Oscar Piastri, whom he beat to the finish by less than two seconds. The complete explanation of the FIA’s decisions involving Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc provides additional context to Ferrari’s eventful Belgian Grand Prix.

Martin Brundle believes Lewis Hamilton welcomed fourth place

Assessing the race for Sky Sports, Martin Brundle described Lewis Hamilton’s Belgian Grand Prix as an extremely difficult weekend. The former Formula 1 driver highlighted the practice crash, the penalty for the incident with George Russell and the moment Lewis Hamilton almost ran over a Ferrari mechanic through no fault of his own.

Martin Brundle suggested that Ferrari receiving a financial penalty rather than Lewis Hamilton being given another sporting sanction may have left the British driver unusually relieved to finish fourth. He humorously indicated that it may have been the first occasion in Lewis Hamilton’s career when fourth place produced that reaction.

Despite all the problems, Lewis Hamilton still recovered to lead Oscar Piastri home and contribute to a strong Ferrari result alongside Charles Leclerc’s second place. A broader review of Ferrari’s Belgian Grand Prix shows how the team converted a chaotic afternoon into second and fourth positions.

For George Russell, the opening-lap retirement brought an immediate end to a difficult Spa weekend. The Mercedes driver later focused on the energy problem that had left his car vulnerable before the collision, as detailed in his request for Mercedes to provide the same specification as Kimi Antonelli.

Lewis Hamilton’s fourth place therefore offered a measure of damage limitation rather than the result Ferrari had initially targeted. Given the accident, car damage, penalty and pit-lane investigation he encountered, Martin Brundle believes simply keeping that position provided a rare reason for the seven-time world champion to feel satisfied with finishing outside the podium places.