Hamilton finished fourth at Spa-Francorchamps after passing Piastri with four laps remaining, but was placed under investigation over an unsafe release during his only stop of the race.
Hamilton stopped under the Virtual Safety Car on Lap 20 and served a five-second penalty for his opening-lap collision with George Russell before Ferrari changed all four tyres.
He was then released while a mechanic was still attempting to adjust his front wing, with the Ferrari striking the team member and knocking him to the ground.
No injuries were reported, while Hamilton immediately stopped and lost additional time following the incident.
The stewards determined that a further sporting penalty was not justified because Hamilton had stopped after the contact.
Ferrari was, however, fined €30,000 ($49,100 AUD), with €10,000 ($16,300 AUD) suspended for 12 months due to the safety risk created by the procedural failure.
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The team was also ordered to provide the FIA with a report within 14 days detailing the measures introduced to prevent a repeat.
The missed adjustment left Hamilton struggling with the front end of his car during the early stages of his final stint, although his pace improved as the race progressed.
He caught Piastri late in the race and completed a pass at Les Combes on Lap 40, with the McLaren driver told to remain within five seconds in case Hamilton was penalised after the finish.
The decision allowed the Ferrari driver to retain fourth place and prevented Piastri from moving up a position in the final classification.
Hamilton’s earlier penalty followed contact with Russell at the same corner on the opening lap, which sent the Mercedes driver spinning into the gravel and out of the race.
The stewards deemed Hamilton wholly responsible but reduced the standard 10-second penalty to five seconds after considering the opening-lap conditions and his attempt to avoid the collision.
Hamilton disagreed with that decision and believed the contact should have been treated as a racing incident.
“I think it was a racing incident, so I don’t think there should be a penalty for that,” Hamilton said.
Here’s Lewis’ view of the contact with George on the opening lap 👀#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/ZticPlZfQH
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 19, 2026
“I take all the responsibility for my incident yesterday [when he crashed in FP3], which then had a knock-on effect of the setup not being right, and then out of place in qualifying.
“Because I think with the setup right, I would have been probably, I think I could have been fifth or third or second.
“And then, that meant starting further back, and then I was in a position where George obviously looked like he lost power, and then he just swooped around on the outside, and we just sort of had a coming together.
“I got damaged, and then in the race, I did the best I could with the damage that I had, and then also the penalty.”
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur was also critical of the punishment.
“I think it’s mega harsh,” Vasseur said.
“If you have a look on the corner, Russell had enough space on the left-hand side, it’s not that he was close to the wall.
“I think it’s more a racing incident for me and this cost us a lot.”
Despite Hamilton missing the podium, Ferrari completed another strong weekend as Charles Leclerc finished second behind Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli.
Leclerc briefly led after Ferrari took advantage of the Virtual Safety Car period, but was unable to hold off Antonelli during the final stint and crossed the line 1.9 seconds behind the Italian.
The result continued Ferrari’s recent improvement after victories in Barcelona and Silverstone, despite the team expecting the high-speed Spa layout to expose its straight-line speed deficit.
“I think overall, it’s a very strong result for the team. We were not expecting this kind of result at Silverstone and Spa due to the layout of the track,” Vasseur said.
“We had good results. I think overall as a team, we did a good job with execution, good strategy, good pit stop.
“I think on the chassis side we are doing a strong job, we are bringing upgrades. It’s paying off, small steps but small step by small step, we are catching up.”
Hamilton’s fourth place, combined with Russell’s retirement, moved him back into second in the drivers’ championship, 45 points behind Antonelli.
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