F1: Lewis Hamilton upbeat on title bid despite another penalty setback

Ferrari’s British driver Lewis Hamilton arrives prior to the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring racetrack in Mogyorod near Budapest, Hungary, on July 26, 2026. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP)

Lewis Hamilton said he remained optimistic about his hopes of winning a record eighth drivers world championship this year despite collecting another penalty in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

The seven-time champion Ferrari driver, who finished classified fifth having finished fourth on the road before taking a five-second penalty, said he had to “work hard not to give the stewards any more opportunities to give me penalties”.

He was adjudged to have exceeded the pit lane speed limit by 0.1 kph during a stop that he said, after the race, was unnecessary and a mistake by the team.

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“I definitely don’t think we should have taken the last stop,” he said, referring to Ferrari’s decision to call him in during a late Virtual Safety Car intervention to swap from hard tyres to softs for the final laps.

“The call came just before the pit entry and I didn’t have time to debate it. You’ve got to trust the decision that’s been taken, but in hindsight my tyres were totally fine.

“I probably would have lost out to Max (Verstappen, who finished second), but I think I could have kept third at least. It just opened the door to getting that penalty at the end.”

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Asked if he was upbeat for the second half of the season, as he seeks to close a 50-point deficit behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes, Hamilton was positive.

“I definitely am,” he said. “I’m massively grateful to the team because they’ve done a really great job in the first half.

“I think the last three races from me have not been great, with lots of mistakes. I’ve had a lot of penalties… I’ve got to work hard hard not to give them any more opportunities for penalties.”