A dejected Lewis Hamilton said he will “hopefully” return for Formula One’s next race – after he cryptically claimed “there is a lot going on in the background that is not great” following the Hungarian Grand Prix.
A day after Hamilton described himself as “absolutely useless”, and called on his own Ferrari team to replace him, the seven-time world champion started 12th and finished in the same position at the Hungaroring, a lap behind winner Lando Norris. Charles Leclerc was fourth in the other Ferrari.
Fronting up to TV cameras after the conclusion of the 14th race of his Ferrari career which has so far failed to live up to its pre-season hype, Hamilton was asked to reflect on his post-qualifying comments.
“When you have a feeling, you have a feeling,” he told Sky Sports. “There is a lot going on in the background that is not great.”
Asked if he had fallen out of love with racing, Hamilton replied: “No, I still love the team.”
Hamilton then headed for his session with the print media.
Quizzed on how he felt a day on from being eliminated in Q2 – a performance made all the more harrowing after Leclerc took pole position, he replied: “Same.”
Put to him that his remarks suggesting that Ferrari “need a new driver” would worry his fans, the British driver again replied: “Same.”
Asked if he had anything else to say other than “the same”, Hamilton said: “I have got nothing else to say.”
Lewis Hamilton doubles down on ‘change the driver’ Ferrari comment 😔 pic.twitter.com/xo8sGMsAzW
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) August 3, 2025
The sport now breaks for three weeks for its mid-season shutdown. The next race takes place in the Netherlands on August 31.
“Very much so,” said Hamilton, who was then asked if he was looking forward to the summer break. Quizzed as to whether he will definitely be driving at the next round in Zandvoort, Hamilton replied: “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.
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 team-mate 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. Hamilton fought back past Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and then Sainz to cross the line in 12th.
However, he is 42 points behind Leclerc, has been out-qualified by his team-mate at 10 of the 14 rounds, beaten him in only two races, at Imola and Silverstone, and is still awaiting his first podium in Ferrari colours.
But Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who oversaw six of Hamilton’s record-equalling seven titles, said: “Lewis is wearing his heart on his sleeve.
“It was very raw what he said. He was hard on himself. We have seen it before when he felt he had not met his own expectations. He’s been that emotionally transparent since he was a young adult.
“But he is the GOAT. He will always be the GOAT. And nobody is going to take it away for any single weekends or a race season that hasn’t gone to plan. That is something he always needs to remember – that he is the greatest of all time.”
Hamilton’s Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur added: “I don’t need to motivate him (Hamilton). He is frustrated but not demotivated, that is a different story. I can perfectly understand the situation.”
