Jolyon Palmer saw raging Lewis Hamilton ‘hide’ from the cameras at Hungarian Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton looked on course for his first Ferrari pole at the Hungarian Grand Prix before his day unravelled.

Hamilton, who has already started from P1 nine times at this circuit, was on provisional pole after the first run in Q3, but failed to improve on a scruffy second effort. That allowed McLaren driver Lando Norris to pip him by a hundredth.

Worse still, Hamilton impeded Oscar Piastri at turn one on his cool-down lap, which would later earn him a three-place grid penalty.

Jolyon Palmer struck by ‘hacked’ off Lewis Hamilton in parc ferme

Hamilton was concerned about the likely penalty from the outset. He told David Coulthard that it was on his mind in his parc ferme interview.

The seven-time world champion also questioned why Ferrari sent the drivers out early rather than waiting until the last moment, when the grip would theoretically have been highest.

Lewis Hamilton has a three-place grid penalty for the Hungarian GP 🚨 What position can he still achieve on Sunday?

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Granted, a yellow flag caused by Max Verstappen’s spin, which landed Kimi Antonelli in trouble, showed the perils of that approach.

F1TV’s Jolyon Palmer said Hamilton’s anger at the way Q3 played out was obvious before he even removed his helmet in parc ferme. He saw the 41-year-old take himself away from the cameras, behind a screen, to gather his thoughts.

“Lewis Hamilton has so many records in Formula 1, but even after taking 104 poles in the sport, you can see he’s dejected that that one got away,” lead commentator Alex Jacques said.

Palmer replied: “He is hacked [off] with that. He is not happy. He’s taken himself away from the usual parc ferme area and tried to find a screen to hide behind there.”

Speaking to Channel 4 after the session, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur confirmed the team were at fault.

“We told him, but a bit too late,” Vasseur said. “We had the yellow flag also. We had too many messages at the same time.”

It’s the second race in a row where miscommunication has hurt Ferrari after Hamilton’s collision with a mechanic, who was unhurt, in Belgium.

In a social media post after receiving his penalty, Hamilton said he ‘can’t catch a break’.