Lewis Hamilton received yet another penalty at the Hungarian Grand Prix, marking his fourth across the last three rounds.
The seven-time champion took to his social media over the weekend to say he was doing "his best to keep positive," but that it's "difficult to hang on to that" with all the penalties he's been getting.
He's hunting for his eighth world championship and is 50 points adrift from title leader Kimi Antonelli before the summer break.
Is the 41-year-old ultimately to blame, or Ferrari?
- Hungarian Grand Prix: Lando Norris takes first victory of the season; Oscar Piastri retires from 2nd
- Oscar Piastri: Carlos Sainz needs to 'look in the mirror' after 'unacceptable' collision
Monaco Grand Prix
The penalty: Five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane
Was Hamilton to blame? This penalty rolled on as a debate for weeks after the race as he was amongst five drivers to get penalised for the same thing, going 0.1 km/h over the pit lane speed limiter.
"I was shocked to hear that I was speeding because I wasn't actually above the speed," Hamilton said.
How it affected his race: It was a lucky escape for Hamilton as it didn't affect his second place finish. Ferrari served it during a Safety Car period that allowed him to retain track position.
British Grand Prix
The penalty: Five-second time penalty for a false start
Was Hamilton to blame? During the highly-anticipated race he accidentally jumped the start, which could be avoided, but mistakes happen. He later escaped a further penalty after he was under investigation for a yellow-flag infringement, but the stewards accepted there were significant mitigating circumstances.
Hamilton said: "From my side, pretty bad from the get-go. I jumped the start, which I have done very few times in the 380-odd races that I've done. I just, yeah, my hand just moved just like that. Don't really know where it went. I didn't mean to do it. I didn't even tell my hand to do it."
How it affected his race: He started in third and got caught by the false start, so he missed the opportunity to jump Charles Leclerc and Antonelli ahead of him. Despite all the mishaps, he kept third position at the end of his home race.
Belgian Grand Prix
The penalty: Five-second penalty for causing a collision with George Russell
Was Hamilton to blame? His Ferrari briefly lost grip in the opening lap of the race and clipped the rear of Russell's car which caused the Mercedes driver to spin out and retire from the race. Russell said afterwards that it was a "racing incident."
Hamilton said: "Even the driver I collided with said it was a racing incident, and they gave me a penalty. That was not needed. And that's cost me a lot of points."
How it affected his race: It was not going to cause too much harm to Hamilton's race until he went to serve his penalty during a pit stop. He was released before all his mechanics moved out of the way and Ferrari were fined £25,000 (€30,000) as a result, with £8,500 (€10,000) suspended for 12 months on the condition a similar infringement does not occur.
Hamilton managed to finish fourth and move up to second in the drivers' championship. Despite the penalty, he would have stayed in fourth as he crossed the line six seconds back from Max Verstappen.
Hungarian Grand Prix
The penalty: Three-place grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri in the final session of qualifying
The penalty: Five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane in the race
Was Hamilton to blame? The penalty in qualifying was rather unfortunate and it was a mistake from the Ferrari garage that could have easily been prevented. The team's engineers usually warn its drivers when another driver behind them is coming through on a flying lap. Piastri ended up locking up and running wide which compromised his final grid position in qualifying.
"I was told literally when he was at the apex behind me, so I had no idea he was coming," Hamilton said.
His second penalty was after he was caught for being a marginal 0.1k/h over the pit lane speed limit. Drivers manually engage and disengage the pit lane speed limiter, but like in Monaco, there can sometimes be faults in the technology F1 use.
"I got the call right at the pit lane entry and I didn't have time to debate it. You put your faith in the team," he said.
How it affected his race: Hamilton had qualified second before the penalty and it scuppered his chances of passing Lando Norris in the first corner and fighting for a second race win this season. After his race penalty, he ended up finishing fifth behind Leclerc after being in contention for a final spot on the podium.
With the first half of the season complete, Hamilton is hoping for a better second half, with no penalties.
"I will work hard to come back, and reset. I have to make sure I don't give them a reason to give me any more penalties," he said.
