Lewis Hamilton questions Ferrari strategy after ‘missed opportunity’ in Hungary

Lewis Hamilton said he will seek an explanation from Ferrari about the team’s strategy at Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix which left him ruing a “missed opportunity” in his bid for a record eighth world championship.

As Lando Norris cashed in on McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri’s bizarre collision with a backmarker to secure the first win of his title defence, Hamilton finished fifth in a Ferrari which undoubtedly had the speed to carry him to victory.

Kimi Antonelli, the Italian teenager he is attempting to hunt down in the standings, started two places behind Hamilton in a Mercedes which has been so dominant all season but was out of sorts at the Hungaroring.

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However, Antonelli still managed to cross the line two places ahead of Hamilton in third to extend his title advantage over the British driver from 45 points to 50.

Hamilton was aggrieved that a “communication error” contributed to him blocking Oscar Piastri in qualifying and serve a three-place grid drop from second to fifth.

Hamilton was then running in second place in Sunday’s race when Ferrari elected to surrender track position – at a venue where overtaking had proved largely impossible – by pitting their driver for a third time during a late Virtual Safety Car period.

He was gazumped by Max Verstappen and Antonelli, and was then hit with a five-second penalty for pit-lane speeding, dropping him behind team-mate Charles Leclerc and a subsequent 11-point championship swing.

In an emotive post after qualifying, Hamilton stressed how “every point counts”. And when asked after Sunday’s race whether he had missed an opportunity in the title race, he replied: “Yes. I’m not really sure why we