Hamilton doesn't hide disappointment: 'We should have won this weekend'

The seven-time world champion enjoyed a strong weekend up until qualifying, where he narrowly missed out on securing the first pole position of his Ferrari spell by just 0.012s to Lando Norris. Armed with McLaren's upgraded MCL40, the Briton claimed his first pole of the season before converting it into victory in Sunday's race.

Hamilton's race was then partially compromised by the three-place grid penalty he had to serve, before a further five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane added to his difficulties. Ferrari brought the Briton in under the late Virtual Safety Car, but he rejoined behind Verstappen and Antonelli.

Although he managed to close the gap, he was unable to find a way past the Mercedes driver and ultimately dropped behind teammate Charles Leclerc once his time penalty was applied.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Hamilton admitted Ferrari made clear progress throughout the season but felt the team failed to capitalise on a car capable of fighting at the very front. The seven-time world champion said both he and Leclerc expected to be battling for the top three, making fourth and fifth a disappointing outcome. He ultimately described the Hungarian Grand Prix as a missed opportunity, insisting Ferrari should have been the team to beat that weekend.

Asked about Ferrari's strategy after Hamilton publicly questioned the call, Vasseur stood by the team's decisions, explaining that the switch to the soft tyre was made after analysing Verstappen's pace and concluding that the compound could comfortably last until the finish. With Ferrari having started on the oldest tyres in the field and already losing ground after the opening lap, the team chose an aggressive approach in an attempt to recover track position.

The Frenchman admitted Ferrari had failed to convert its promising pace into a strong result. After topping the timesheets on Friday, he said the expectation had been to fight at the front rather than settle for fourth and fifth, describing Sunday's execution as well below the team's standards.

Vasseur also pointed to a series of setbacks that ultimately shaped Ferrari's afternoon, including the poor start, the penalty and losing positions during the pit-stop phases. According to the Ferrari boss, those issues repeatedly dropped the cars into traffic, making the race significantly more difficult and underlining the need for the team to improve its Sunday performances.