Martin Brundle’s ‘alarms bells are going off’ after FIA’s explanation for Lewis Hamilton penalty

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Lewis Hamilton exceeded the pit-lane speed limit by just 0.1km/h before receiving a five-second penalty at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Ferrari called Hamilton into the pits for an unplanned stop on lap 56 out of 70 after Oscar Piastri pulled over on track, which triggered a virtual safety car.

Hamilton raced Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli to the safety car line on the pit exit and just lost out, which meant he had to give up the place.

Martin Brundle concerned about Monaco repeat after Lewis Hamilton penalty

Speaking on Sky Sports F1 (26/07, 16:35), Martin Brundle said Hamilton’s penalty was only right, even if it may seem harsh given the scale of the offence. The ‘cut-off point’ must be respected to the letter.

Brundle was reminded, however, about the controversial penalties at the Monaco Grand Prix. Hamilton was one of several drivers who were sanctioned for pit-lane speeding in the principality.

However, it later emerged that the FIA and the teams had simply measured the length of the pit lane differently. Alpine protested Pierre Gasly’s penalty and successfully had his podium reinstated.

“It’s like being a quarter of a kilo underweight,” said Brundle. “You’re going to be aggrieved, but the rules are the rules in that respect.

“Where my alarm bells are going off is we had this in Monaco. A lot of drivers there were getting this 0.1 [second violation] and then of course we had all the shenanigans after the race.

“They set the pit limiters through the weekend. They really finetune it. We see a few penalties on a Friday of a few hundred euros.

“But it’s perceived as a competitive advantage, and when you see how close those lines are, with Antonelli for example, if somebody just goes, ‘Well, 0.1’s alright’, then 0.3s is alright, suddenly you get hell.

“There has to be a cut-off point. It’s painful and harsh, but it’s the rules, as long as he was actually doing that speed, which they weren’t in Monaco.”

Hamilton couldn’t regain third from Antonelli, and the penalty eventually dropped him to fifth behind teammate Charles Leclerc.

Unbroadcast radio messages show Hamilton was immediately worried about being penalised, but Ferrari initially reassured him that everything was okay.