Lewis Hamilton made it clear that he disagreed with Ferrari’s decision to pit him late in the Hungarian GP, the 11th round of the 2026 Formula 1 season, held this Sunday (26). According to the seven-time World Champion, had he stayed out on track, he would have been in a prime position to secure a podium finish—which ultimately slipped away.

After receiving a grid penalty and starting fifth, the Briton jumped to fourth right at the start, but found himself stuck behind Max Verstappen for a extended period, preventing him from joining the battle against the McLarens in Budapest. Similarly, the team’s call to pit him on lap 57 when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed dropped him from second to fourth.

As a result, he was passed by the four-time Red Bull champion and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, on top of picking up a 5-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. “Yeah, I definitely think we shouldn’t have made the stop,” Hamilton replied when asked by British broadcaster Sky Sports about the decision to change tires in those final moments.

“But the call came literally moments before the pit entry, so I didn’t have time to discuss it. At times like that, you just have to trust the call being made,” he explained. “Looking back, my tires were completely fine. I probably would have lost the position to Max, but I think I could have at least held onto third place,” he analyzed.

“After that, we just opened the door for the penalty I received in the end,” concluded the #44 driver, who had to settle for fifth place, finishing behind teammate Charles Leclerc as well.

Formula 1 now enters the summer break. The 2026 season resumes from August 21–23 with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.