Why was Lewis Hamilton handed a five-second penalty at the Hungarian GP?

Lewis Hamilton was left aggrieved as he was handed yet another five-second penalty at the Hungarian Grand Prix, dealing a blow to his title hopes.Hamilton was caught speeding in the pit lane as he tried to get out in front of Kimi Antonelli under Virtual Safety Car, which had been brought out after Oscar Piastri was forced to retire.The Ferrari driver subsequently lost fourth place to team-mate Charles Leclerc after the race was finished, with the FIA later confirming that he had breached the 80kph speed limit by just 0.

1kph.Hamilton will have the opportunity to appeal the decision, who lamented that he “can’t catch a break” after being hit with a three-place grid penalty before the race.However, it was the decision to pit in the first place that left Hamilton resenting what had transpired, rather than the sanction itself.

Lewis Hamilton (left) was penalised for speeding in the pit lane (Getty)"Yeah, I definitely don't think we should have taken the stop,” he told Sky Sports."But the call came literally just before the pit lane entry and I didn't have time to debate and you've got to trust the decision that has been taken."In hindsight, my tyres were totally fine.

I was probably going to lose out to Max [Verstappen] but I think I could have kept third at least."Then just opened up the door to obviously the penalty that I got in the end."RecommendedHow Lando Norris took advantage of Oscar Piastri’s misfortune to secure first win of F1 seasonFurious Oscar Piastri slams ‘idiot’ Carlos Sainz after costly crash during Hungarian Grand PrixF1 standings after Hungarian GP as Kimi Antonelli extends lead over Russell and HamiltonHamilton is now 50 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, with this setback coming a week after he was given the same penalty for contact with George Russell’s Mercedes in the opening lap of the Belgian Grand Prix.

“They're handing out penalties like crazy!” Hamilton reacted as his sanction was confirmed over the team radio.Defending champion Lando Norris went on to win at the Hungaroring, topping the podium for the first time this season.

Verstappen came through in second while Antonelli secured third to keep a strong grip on the drivers championship heading into the four-week summer break.Join our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments