24.3 C
New York
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
spot_img
More

    Latest Posts

    “How’d I lose so much ground?” Full radio from Hamilton’s point-less Hungary slog | Formula 1

    Lewis Hamilton said almost nothing when reporters asked him about his performance after yesterday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

    He went into the summer break after one of his least successful weekends so far. He berated himself on Saturday after failing to make the cut for Q3, taking 12th on the grid.

    After making his sole pit stop in the race, Hamilton’s race engineer Ricardo Adami told him he was on course for a potential seventh place. But Ferrari’s lap time projections for Hamilton proved wildly optimistic and he ended up back where he started in 12th place.

    The radio exchanges between Hamilton and Adami during the race reveal why their race was such a struggle.

    Hamilton’s Hungarian GP radio

    Jump to:

    “No pace to overtake”
    “It’s Alonso P5 slowing down the whole pack”
    “The pace is so slow with lift-and-coast”
    “Box opposite Mercedes”
    “Verstappen car behind, one second”
    “Increase lift-and-coast”
    “How far behind are we?”
    “I just lost five seconds”
    “How did I lose so much ground?”
    “Really sorry about this weekend guys”

    “No pace to overtake”

    Hamilton started 12th on a set of hard tyres. With almost every other driver on softer rubber he immediately lost positions to Carlos Sainz Jnr and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

    He was also quickly given reminders to ‘lift-and-coast’ – i.e. back off before the braking zones – which he was told was necessary for his brakes.

    Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

    Lap: 1/70 HAM: 1’34.988
    Adami Check your brake balance, all good.
    Lap: 2/70 HAM: 1’24.337
    Adami DRS enabled.
    Lap: 3/70 HAM: 1’24.182
    Adami Lift-and-coast reminder for brakes.
    Lap: 6/70 HAM: 1’23.636
    Hamilton No pace to overtake.
    Adami Copy that.
    Lap: 8/70 HAM: 1’23.220
    Adami And increase lift-and-coast for turn one and turn two.
    Hamilton I’m already lifting and coasting a huge amount.
    Adami Understood.

    “It’s Alonso slowing down the whole pack”

    At this stage in the race Hamilton was stuck in a tight queue of cars headed by Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin:

    Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

    Lap: 10/70 HAM: 1’23.410
    Hamilton DRS train. Can’t get close.
    Adami Copy, understood.
    Adami It’s Alonso P5 slowing down the whole pack, he’s lapping in 23s.
    Lap: 11/70 HAM: 1’23.467
    Adami Alonso P5 is seven seconds ahead.
    Lap: 12/70 HAM: 1’23.825
    Hamilton Deg seems low for everyone.
    Adami Yeah, people talking one stop, for info.
    Adami And keep up with the lift-and-coast.
    Lap: 13/70 HAM: 1’23.519
    Adami B-bal 63 might be better for temps to manage those brakes.
    Hamilton I’m barely using them.
    Adami Understood
    Lap: 15/70 HAM: 1’23.893
    Hamilton No way to get close. Impossible.
    Adami Understood, people are stopping now, that’s good for us. Tyres are good. What you are doing is good.
    Hamilton McLaren likely to [unclear] pit stop.

    “The pace is so slow with lift-and-coast”

    Alonso began to increase his pace from lap 15 and some drivers between him and Hamilton pitted, including Sainz. Hamilton was still being told to lift and coast:

    Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

    Lap: 17/70 HAM: 1’23.455
    Adami We need to lift and coast I’m afraid to manage those brakes for now.
    Lap: 18/70 HAM: 1’23.807
    Hamilton The pace is so slow with lift-and-coast.
    Adami We definitely need it. The race will come to us.
    Lap: 19/70 HAM: 1’23.579
    Adami This lap is good for brakes.
    Hamilton Generally a little bit on the nose.
    Adami Understood.
    Hamilton That medium tyre’s clearly quite quick.
    Lap: 20/70 HAM: 1’23.493
    Adami Copy that.
    Hamilton How bad is our pace here?
    Adami Around a second or so per lap.

    “Box opposite Mercedes”

    Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Hungaroring, 2025

    Hamilton was following Antonelli, Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman. The latter was dropping back from Liam Lawson. Ferrari prepared to react to the loss of time but told Hamilton only to pit if Antonelli didn’t. The Mercedes headed for the pits so Hamilton stayed out:

    Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

    Lap: 21/70 HAM: 1’23.838
    Adami We have seven seconds to P5.
    Hamilton I can’t get close to these guys, I’m just getting held up.
    Adami Understood. And box opposite Mercedes.
    Hamilton Hard tyre.
    Adami Antonelli ahead pits
    Stay out. Stay out!
    Lap: 22/70 HAM: 1’23.240
    Hamilton Yep understood.
    Adami That’s good stuff.
    Adami Ahead of Hadjar is Bearman, lap time 23.9
    Hamilton Tyre’s still okay. Tyre is still okay
    Lap: 23/70 HAM: 1’24.143
    Adami And switch position yellow. Try to stay on top of the brakes still.
    Adami You are doing well, switch position red, Verstappen car behind.

    “Verstappen car behind, one second”

    Still stuck behind Bearman and Hadjar, Hamilton suddenly had Max Verstappen for company. The Red Bull driver had started ahead of him, pitted for hard tyres and emerged behind him.

    When Verstappen lunged down the inside of Hamilton at turn four, the Ferrari driver dived onto the run-off area and allowed his rival past. Hamilton appeared to make no comment about the incident on his radio. The stewards announced they would investigate the incident after the race but Hamilton chose not to speak to them and they took no action against Verstappen.

    Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

    Lap: 25/70 HAM: 1’23.779
    Adami Verstappen car behind, one second, on seven-lap old hard. No DRS for him.
    Hamilton I can see him, I can see him, I can see him.
    Lap: 26/70 HAM: 1’24.197
    Hamilton Bit of a sitting duck behind these guys.
    Adami Thinking of plan C.
    Lap: 27/70 HAM: 1’24.048
    Adami Try to keep up the brake management, I know, it’s critical. Keep it up.
    Lap: 28/70 HAM: 1’24.308
    Hamilton Obviously it sucks but if that’s what you think.
    Hamilton Yeah, same here, it sucks also.
    Adami Try wider entry last corner for a better exit.
    Lap: 29/70 HAM: 1’25.490
    Hamilton Hamilton goes off at turn four as Verstappen passes him
    Are people behind me on new tyres or not?
    Adami For Gasly, negative, stay out on new tyres. Racing Gasly behind, same tyres as you.
    Lap: 30/70 HAM: 1’23.675
    Hamilton But these tyres aren’t any good, mate.
    Adami Understood.

    “Increase lift-and-coast”

    Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Hungaroring, 2025

    Bearman finally pitted on lap 30. When Hadjar did the same three laps later, Hamilton finally had clear air ahead of him. That allowed him to lap around a second quicker than he had before.

    Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

    Lap: 31/70 HAM: 1’22.811
    Adami Bearman ahead has boxed, we believe also Hadjar has boxed.
    Hamilton I can see that.
    Lap: 32/70 HAM: 1’23.251
    Adami Increase lift-and-coast into 12, critical for brakes.
    Lap: 33/70 HAM: 1’23.036
    Hamilton It’s so hard to overtake here, mate.
    Adami Hadjar boxing.
    Hadjar ahead pits
    Lap: 34/70 HAM: 1’22.257
    Adami Verstappen car ahead, seven seconds. Hulkenberg car behind 1.6. Let’s use this free air now, mode push. And go mode X.
    Hamilton Tyres feel okay.
    Lap: 35/70 HAM: 1’22.274
    Adami That’s good, brakes under control, keep pushing like that.
    Lap: 36/70 HAM: 1’22.451
    Adami Target lap time low 22 as we are doing. Verstappen ahead 21.8 on fresher tyres.
    Lap: 38/70 HAM: 1’22.272
    Adami Pace is very good.
    Lap: 39/70 HAM: 1’22.437
    Adami We are good also on tyres. Tyre phase update on your side when you can.
    Adami Copy, tyres okay.

    “How far behind are we?”

    However the damage to Hamilton’s race had already been done. Alonso was so far ahead he was able to pit and come out ahead of the Ferrari driver, to his obvious dismay.

    By lap 40 Hamilton’s tyres were starting to fade and Ferrari called him in.

    Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

    Lap: 40/70 HAM: 1’23.218
    Adami Alonso coming out from the pits, racing for position.
    Alonso comes out of the pits ahead of Hamilton
    Hamilton Geez, how far behind are we? Has everyone ahead of me stopped?
    Adami Bortoleto and Lawson ahead didn’t stop.
    Hamilton So where are they? How far ahead?
    Lap: 41/70 HAM: 1’22.836
    Adami Bortoleto and Lawson in the box, in the pits, all clear ahead.
    Lap: 42/70 HAM: 1’25.996
    Adami P7 on the road, keep extending.
    Adami Talking over Hamilton
    And box, Lewis, box for medium.
    Lap: 43/70 HAM: 1’41.544
    Adami Drop shallow

    “I just lost five seconds”

    Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Hungaroring, 2025

    Once Hamilton returned to the pits he was so far behind he had to slow to let the leaders pass him. That cost him time in pursuit of the drivers he had dropped back behind, including Sainz and Gasly.

    Even so, Ferrari still believed a seventh place finish was possible. They set Hamilton a target lap time of 1’19.5 but he wasn’t able to get close to it.

    Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

    Adami Piastri behind. Solid blues to Piastri behind.
    Adami Hamilton lets Piastri past at turn two
    Okay, good.
    Hamilton Where am I, exactly?
    Hamilton Be really helpful for you to give us an idea obviously on how many laps.
    Lap: 44/70 HAM: 1’21.152
    Adami We are P16 with a big tyre delta, come back to a potential P7, 26 laps to go
    Hamilton How far is everyone ahead?
    Adami Gasly five seconds ahead, Gasly.
    Adami We have a target lap time 19.5. Piastri is boxing.
    Hamilton Damn, I just lost like five seconds, man, letting him pass.
    Lap: 45/70 HAM: 1’20.862
    Adami Gasly four seconds.
    Hamilton What have I got to do with these tyres? Like, manage them for long?
    Adami Status three, focus on 11, and going to the end.
    Hamilton I can’t do 19s, I just did a fast lap the last one’s 21.
    Lap: 46/70 HAM: 1’21.135
    Adami Understood, status three and optimise those 24 laps. Bearman car ahead, Bearman lap time 22.5.
    Hamilton I can see, I can see, mate
    Lap: 47/70 HAM: 1’20.784
    Hamilton Are you really expecting me to do 19s?
    Adami Update target lap time, 20.5.
    Lap: 48/70 HAM: 1’20.853
    Hamilton Yeah, I don’t have a 20.5 in me think.
    Adami Gasly lap time 21.7.
    Lap: 49/70 HAM: 1’20.748
    Adami Hamilton passes Gasly
    That’s awesome, there.
    Adami Next Ocon, 22.4 his lap time.
    Lap: 50/70 HAM: 1’20.961
    Adami Sainz ahead, 22.5. Brake release into five.
    Lap: 51/70 HAM: 1’20.201
    Adami Hamilton passes Sainz
    Hadjar six seconds ahead.
    Hamilton [Unclear]
    Adami B12. Hadjar six seconds ahead. Antonelli just ahead of Hadjar.

    “How did I lose so much ground?”

    Hamilton began to realise he had lost too much time in traffic earlier in the race to have a chance of racing into the points positions.

    Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

    Lap: 52/70 HAM: 1’20.277
    Adami Antonelli lap time 20.8.
    Hamilton How did I lose so much ground? These guys are miles ahead!
    Adami Just went for the tyre delta, use it now.
    Lap: 53/70 HAM: 1’20.395
    Hamilton Pace of the cars ahead?
    Adami 21.0.
    Lap: 54/70 HAM: 1’20.167
    Adami Hadjar 4.5 ahead, 21.0.
    Lap: 55/70 HAM: 1’20.022
    Adami 15 laps to go.
    Hamilton These guys are miles ahead, mate.
    Lap: 56/70 HAM: 1’20.496
    Adami This lap is good.
    Lap: 57/70 HAM: 1’20.469
    Adami We are catching them, 2.5 ahead Hadjar and Norris race leader 4.4 behind. And Norris lap time 20.0
    Lap: 59/70 HAM: 1’20.642
    Adami Suggest an early entry into turn eight. Antonelli ahead of Hadjar, 21.1.

    “Really sorry about this weekend, guys”

    Over the final laps of the race, Hamilton closed on Antonelli and Hadjar, and had a chance to claim a point if he passed them both. However his efforts were disrupted by the battling McLaren drivers who came by to lap him, costing him more time.

    Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

    Lap: 60/70 HAM: 1’20.924
    Adami Flashing blues to Norris behind, 2.6 right now.
    Lap: 61/70 HAM: 1’20.998
    Hamilton What did you say?
    Adami Norris race leader, 2.1 behind. We have flashing blue.
    Hamilton Yeah I can see him.
    Lap: 63/70 HAM: 1’23.198
    Adami We have solid blues to Norris behind, he is 1.2.
    Hamilton Yeah, I can see mate.
    He lets Norris past into the last corner
    Lap: 64/70 HAM: 1’21.966
    Adami And Piastri next.
    He lets Piastri past at turn one
    Lap: 65/70 HAM: 1’22.040
    Adami Driver default delta zero on. Five laps to go.
    Lap: 68/70 HAM: 1’23.085
    Adami Two laps to go and SOC four.

    After finishing one lap down in the same place he started, Hamilton apologised to his team.

    Lap: 70/70 HAM:
    Adami That’s P12. Charge on. Difficult to pass there with the DRS. And pick up, please. In free air the pace was very good.
    Hamilton Really sorry about this weekend guys, for losing you points.

    Miss nothing from RaceFans

    Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:

    Latest Posts

    spot_imgspot_img

    Don't Miss

    Stay in touch

    To be updated with all the latest news, offers and special announcements.