Lewis Hamilton drops to fifth after Hungarian Grand Prix grid penalty

Lewis Hamilton has been handed a three-place grid penalty for the Hungarian Grand Prix after stewards ruled that he impeded Oscar Piastri during qualifying.

The Ferrari driver had originally qualified second behind Lando Norris, but the penalty drops him to fifth on the starting grid.

Meanwhile Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli and Piastri each move up one place.

The incident occurred at Turn 1 during the final qualifying session when Piastri was on a flying lap.

Hamilton was unaware the McLaren driver was approaching, forcing Piastri to run wide and abandon his lap.

Speaking after qualifying, Hamilton said: "I think my mind is just elsewhere right this second, because once I’d finished my lap, I don’t know if I got in the way of someone, so I’m just trying to run that through my mind, because I wasn’t aware anyone was coming."

In its decision, the FIA stewards said: "Having examined the available evidence, the Stewards determined that Car 44 unnecessarily impeded Car 81 during Qualifying."

The stewards added: "In accordance with the FIA F1 Regulations and the established penalty guidelines for this type of infringement in Qualifying, the Stewards impose a three-place grid penalty on the driver of Car 44."

The penalty means Hamilton will start fifth as Ferrari looks to challenge McLaren in Sunday's race.