Lewis Hamilton insisted he still loves racing for Ferrari after suggesting at the weekend the team should consider changing its drivers due to his poor form.
After a poor qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Hamilton had told the press he was “useless.”
He added: “The team has no problem. You can see the car is on pole. They probably need to change drivers.”
There was not much improvement for Hamilton on Sunday as he started and finished 12th, while teammate Charles Leclerc dropped from pole position — the team’s first of the season — to fourth position.
Hamilton, who joined Ferrari amid great fanfare this year, looked despondent in the media pen after the Budapest race.
Asked if he could elaborate on his comments the day before and how he was feeling, the seven-time champion said: “Not particularly, when you have a feeling you have a feeling, there’s a lot going on in the background … that’s not great.”
When pressed on whether he still loved racing, he replied: “No, I still love it … I still love the team.”
Asked if he was looking forward to the summer break and whether he would be back driving at the next round in Zandvoort on August 31, Hamilton said: “I look forward to coming back … Hopefully I will be back, yeah.”
Hamilton has won a record eight times at the Hungaroring but this has been an alarming weekend for the 40-year-old. Other than a sprint race win in China earlier in the season, results have been underwhelming and he has not finished on the podium at a grand prix yet.
Hamilton stood largely on his own for the drivers’ parade, which takes place before every race, and was later accompanied by Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli.
By the end of the first lap, he dropped behind Carlos Sainz and Antonelli and was 14th. At the end of the eighth lap, he was 20 seconds behind Leclerc, then leading, in the other Ferrari, and at the end of Lap 14 he trailed his teammate by half a minute.
When he left the pits on Lap 43 for his sole change of tyres, Hamilton was a lap down on the leaders. He fought back past Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and then Sainz to cross the line in 12th.
The Briton stands 42 points behind Leclerc, has been out-qualified by his teammate at 10 of the 14 rounds and beaten him in only two races (Imola and Silverstone) and is still awaiting his first podium in Ferrari colours.
– Charles Leclerc retracts frustrated radio messages
– Oscar Piastri: ‘Difficult’ to be on losing side of Hungarian GP
Former boss Toto Wolff said he was not surprised to hear Hamilton, who won six of his championships with Mercedes, speak so frankly.
“That is Lewis wearing his heart on his sleeve. It’s what he thought when he was asked after the session,” Wolff said Sunday evening.
“It was very raw. He was down on himself. We had it in the past when he felt that he’d underperformed in his own expectations.
“He has been that emotionally transparent since he was a young adult.
“He will beat himself up. But he’s the GOAT [greatest of all time] and will always be the GOAT. [Nothing] will take that away, no single weekend or race season which hasn’t gone to plan. That’s something he needs to always remember — that he’s the greatest of all time.”
Information from PA contributed to this report.
