Lewis Hamilton knows he and Ferrari must cut out the unnecessary penalties if they are to get their title fight back on track after Formula One's mid-season break.

Going into the four-week hiatus, Hamilton sits second in the drivers' championship standings, albeit with 50 points separating him from frontrunner Kimi Antonelli.

Hamilton's performances have improved drastically in 2026, after he ended his first season with the Scuderia sixth in the drivers' championship without a single podium finish.

He claimed his first victory with the team at last month's Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, while the seven-time world champion has also placed second twice and third twice.

His form has dipped slightly in recent weeks, though, only managing one podium finish in his last four races, with penalties hampering his prospects.

His fifth-place finish at Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix came following a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, having exceeded the 80kph speed limit by 0.1kph.

Hamilton had just inherited second place at the time of that incident, and it marked the third successive race in which he had been handed a five-second penalty.   

Asked if he was optimistic of his results picking up again after the break, Hamilton told Sky Sports F1: "I definitely am. 

"I am massively grateful to the team because they have really done a great job in this first half. I think the last three races, from me, have not been great. Lots of mistakes. 

"A mistake at Silverstone cost me dearly. Then obviously in the last race [in Belgium] as well. And then this weekend.

"There have been a lot of penalties in the last three races, so I've got to work hard to not give them any opportunity to give me any more penalties moving forwards."

Hamilton's penalty came after Ferrari opted to pit him for a third time, while the cars on track were running at a controlled speed due to a virtual safety car after a gearbox failure left Oscar Piastri's McLaren marooned at the side of the track.

And though Hamilton disagreed with the call to return to the pits, he says he did not have time to debate the decision with his team.  

"I definitely don't think we should have taken the stop, but the call came literally just before the pit lane entry and I didn't have time to debate," Hamilton said. "You've got to trust the decision that has been taken.

"In hindsight, my tyres were totally fine. I was probably going to lose out to Max, but I think I could have kept third at least. That just opened the door to the penalty."

The F1 season resumes on the weekend of August 21 to 23, with the Dutch Grand Prix. There will then be another week off before back-to-back races at Monza and Madrid.