Lewis Hamilton reveals the embarrassing reason Max Verstappen overtook him at Hungarian Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen produced one of the overtakes of the season to pass Lewis Hamilton during Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

Verstappen held off a soft-shod Hamilton at the start, setting up an extended battle in the opening stint.

With Hamilton unable to make a move on track, despite telling his team that Verstappen was ‘really slow’, Ferrari attempted an undercut that originally paid off. But the Red Bull driver soon regained the place.

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Lewis Hamilton didn’t see Max Verstappen coming before overtake

Verstappen dived down the inside of Hamilton into turn one, overtaking the Ferrari and the Racing Bulls car of Liam Lawson in the same move.

In an unbroadcast radio message immediately afterwards, Hamilton made what is always an embarrassing admission for a racing driver – he had been caught napping.

“Argh, [I] didn’t see him coming guys,” he explained.

In a subsequent message, Hamilton apologised to his engineer Carlo Santi for the lapse in concentration.

“Sorry for losing that position, mate,” he said.

Sky Sports pundit Anthony Davidson suggested that Hamilton used more battery than he would have liked when passing Lawson himself at the end of the previous lap, which left him short on power at the end of the pit straight.

• READ MORE: Unheard radio shows Ferrari misled Lewis Hamilton over penalty at Hungarian Grand Prix

Hamilton undercut Verstappen again when he made his second stop as Red Bull prioritised a tyre offset. After eventually coming in, the Dutchman was hunting down his old rival when Oscar Piastri’s retirement triggered a safety car.

Unlike Verstappen, Hamilton took the opportunity to pit. He hoped to hunt down car #3, but even if he had cleared Kimi Antonelli, it looked as if he lacked the pace to do so.

Hamilton eventually crossed the line fourth, which became fifth due to a five-second penalty for pit lane speeding.