Herbert: Lewis Hamilton Hungary FIA penalty his own ‘fault’

Johnny Herbert, the former FIA steward, claimed that the Lewis Hamilton “of 10 years ago” would not have committed the pit-lane speeding offence which triggered his latest penalty in Hungary.

Hamilton accused the stewards of penalising him at any opportunity amid a streak of four penalties in his last three races. Hamilton spoke of driver talks with the FIA over penalty consistency. Herbert says that his former colleagues are doing “an excellent job.”

Lewis Hamilton concerns dismissed by Johnny Herbert

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As revealed by PlanetF1.com last month, FIA decisions on Hamilton and George Russell, plus Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri at Spa, would top the agenda when drivers and the FIA met at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Hamilton later lifted the lid on those talks, which he said included an FIA admission that one of his penalties should not have been issued. That was his five seconds for a false start at Silverstone.

Overall, Hamilton has received four penalties across his last three races. “Every opportunity that I give those stewards, every single time they give me a penalty!” Hamilton’s words over team radio.

Herbert does not see a problem.

Herbert is widely quoted as having told a gambling platform: “You can’t say it was ‘just bad luck’. You can’t and mustn’t penalise a driver simply because you might not like him. That’s not how it works.

“The guidelines are there, plain and simple. There are four stewards in the room who work closely together. You can’t ignore the rules and guidelines, because that leads to all sorts of other problems. What’s more, it would rile the drivers.

“Consistency in handing out penalties is therefore crucial, and that is precisely what teams and drivers always strive for. In my opinion, the stewards are doing an excellent job.”

Hamilton’s most recent penalty was a five-second punishment for going 0.1 km/h over the 80 km/h limit, in the Hungarian GP pit lane.

Herbert said Hamilton alone is to blame for that, and suggested that the 41-year-old would not have made an error like that a decade ago. Hamilton released the pit-lane limiter a fraction too early.

“The speeding offence was Hamilton’s fault, full stop. You can’t blame anyone else,” Herbert stressed.

“Would the Lewis of 10 years ago have done something like that? Probably not. I don’t know why he got his judgement so completely wrong. Ultimately, there are no excuses.

“It’s not as if the stewards have anything against Lewis. That’s not how it works. He simply has to learn not to make mistakes like this.”

More on Lewis Hamilton from PlanetF1.com

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Hamilton went into the F1 2026 summer break sat P2 in the Drivers’ standings, 50 points behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.

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