Ferrari’s strategy for Lewis Hamilton at the Hungarian Grand Prix began to unravel with an early second pit stop that Max Verstappen immediately considered premature. The decision created a substantial tyre offset in Red Bull’s favour and ultimately contributed to Hamilton falling from podium contention to fifth place.
The first aggressive call had worked. Starting on soft tyres, Hamilton became the first driver in the 70-lap race to pit when Ferrari brought him in on lap 13. The undercut moved the seven-time world champion ahead of Verstappen, although the Red Bull driver quickly reclaimed the position at Turn 1 after catching Hamilton off guard.
Ferrari’s subsequent decisions proved more costly. Hamilton abandoned his hard tyres after only 17 laps during the middle phase of the race, before making another stop under the late virtual safety car. That final call surrendered two positions on track and formed part of the wider sequence of errors that left Ferrari without a Hungarian Grand Prix podium.
Ferrari’s early Lewis Hamilton strategy call concerned Max Verstappen
The central problem was not simply the number of pit stops, but the timing of Hamilton’s second visit to the pits. Ferrari again used the undercut to place its driver ahead of Verstappen, but Red Bull was able to extend the Dutchman’s stint and create an 11-lap tyre advantage.
With considerably fresher rubber, Verstappen began closing on Hamilton. Kimi Antonelli also became a threat after stopping even later, leaving Ferrari increasingly concerned that its driver would be unable to preserve second place until the chequered flag.
Hamilton had encountered difficulties during his second stint. He dropped 3.7 seconds behind Verstappen before coming under pressure from Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. Even so, his deficit to the Red Bull was growing by only a few tenths per lap, while Leclerc was not yet being seriously compromised behind him.
Verstappen’s response over team radio illustrated how differently Red Bull viewed the strategic window. On lap 40, race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase informed the four-time world champion that Hamilton was stopping. Verstappen, whose hard tyres were only one lap newer at that stage, immediately indicated that such a stop would have been too early for Red Bull.
That assessment proved significant. By stopping Hamilton so soon, Ferrari left him trying to complete a long final stint while rivals held a valuable tyre-age advantage. Waiting approximately five more laps would have reduced the offset and made the remaining distance easier to manage without excessive tyre conservation or degradation.
Lewis Hamilton feared tyre trouble immediately after second stop
Hamilton understood the risk almost as soon as he returned to the circuit. After the stop, he asked Ferrari whether he was likely to encounter difficulties before the end of the race. His concern reflected the length of the remaining stint and the prospect of defending against drivers on fresher tyres.
The Maranello team’s lack of patience therefore created the conditions that made another pit stop appear necessary. Had Hamilton remained on track for several additional laps, the reduced tyre disadvantage might have allowed him to reach the finish without returning to the pits during the virtual safety car.
Ferrari’s late call came after Oscar Piastri stopped on track, triggering the neutralisation. By that point, Verstappen had already regained second place and Hamilton was attempting to remain ahead of Antonelli in third. Ferrari nevertheless instructed the Briton to pit shortly before he reached the entry, giving him little opportunity to question the decision.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Hamilton acknowledged that he did not believe Ferrari should have made the stop under the virtual safety car. He explained that the instruction arrived immediately before the pit entry, leaving no time for a discussion, and that he consequently had to trust the decision taken by the pit wall.
In hindsight, Hamilton felt his existing tyres remained in adequate condition. He accepted that Verstappen was probably going to overtake him, but believed third place could still have been protected. The additional stop instead removed that possibility and exposed him to the incident that produced his five-second penalty.
Late Ferrari stop opens door to Hamilton penalty
As Hamilton attempted to complete the stop and emerge ahead of Antonelli, he raced to reach the relevant line first. In the process, the Ferrari driver released his pit-lane speed limiter too early and exceeded the limit by 0.1 km/h, resulting in an automatic five-second sanction.
The penalty ultimately contributed to Hamilton being classified fifth in the final Hungarian Grand Prix results. Charles Leclerc moved ahead of his teammate into fourth, leaving Ferrari without a podium despite having demonstrated competitive pace earlier in the weekend. The full circumstances of Hamilton’s 0.1 km/h pit-lane infringement underlined how an unnecessary strategic risk could produce an additional sporting consequence.
Hamilton subsequently explained that the late stop had opened the door to the penalty. Without that visit to the pits, there would have been no opportunity to commit the speeding infringement, while his assessment was that third place remained achievable on the tyres he already had.
A successful undercut becomes an overplayed Ferrari gamble
Ferrari had shown with its first stop that an aggressive undercut could be effective at the Hungaroring. Bringing Hamilton in first allowed him to gain track position over Verstappen, even though the advantage was quickly lost when the Red Bull driver overtook him at Turn 1.
Repeating the tactic during the following phase carried a greater long-term cost. Red Bull’s ability to extend Verstappen’s stint produced the 11-lap offset that placed Hamilton under growing pressure. The early stop then forced Ferrari to consider another intervention when Piastri’s retirement brought out the virtual safety car.
The strategy therefore became a chain reaction. Ferrari gained a short-term position through the undercut but sacrificed tyre life for the closing laps. That disadvantage made Verstappen’s attack appear inevitable, brought Antonelli into the equation and encouraged the Scuderia to make the late stop that Hamilton considered unnecessary.
Ferrari later acknowledged that its preferred theoretical strategy would have differed from the one used during the race, another factor in the team’s assessment that the Hungarian Grand Prix tyre plan had been incorrect. The execution left Hamilton fifth rather than fighting for the podium, while Lando Norris went on to secure the victory in a race where McLaren’s hopes of a double podium disappeared.
With greater patience and cleaner execution, Hamilton could have finished second behind Norris rather than fifth. The first undercut delivered the intended immediate gain, but Ferrari’s attempt to repeat that advantage left its driver too exposed later in the race. Verstappen recognised the danger as soon as the second stop was communicated, while Hamilton began questioning the consequences almost immediately after leaving the pits.
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