Lewis Hamilton has described himself as “useless” and says Ferrari “probably need to change driver” after his latest disappointing qualifying display at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion’s challenging debut campaign with Ferrari reached perhaps its low point as he qualified 12th in a Q2 exit, before his team-mate Charles Leclerc beat the heavily fancied McLarens to a shock pole at the Hungaroring.
Hamilton’s latest disappointment came after he was knocked out in the first part of both Sprint and full-length qualifying last weekend in Belgium, with Leclerc now holding a 12-5 head-to-head advantage over one lap this season.
Following his exit at a circuit where he holds a record nine pole positions, Hamilton said, “every time, every time,” over Ferrari team radio.
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Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was despondent after failing to make it into Q3 at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
In a stunning post-session interview with Sky Sports F1, he was asked about his radio remarks, and said: “It’s me every time.
“I’m useless, absolutely useless.
“The team have no problem. You’ve seen the car’s on pole.
“So they probably need to change driver.”
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Highlights from qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Aside from a Sprint pole and victory at the second round of the season in China, the union of the sport’s most famous driver and team has produced little success.
Hamilton has yet to score a grand prix podium in 13 race appearances for Ferrari, while Leclerc is well placed to claim what would be his sixth top-three finish of the year on Sunday.
The 40-year-old said on Thursday in Hungary that he expected there to be “some tears” for him during the sport’s upcoming summer break, as he described his first campaign in red as a “real battle”.
Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur suggested Hamilton had been unfortunate to be eliminated by a small margin before the conditions turned in the team’s favour in Q3.
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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was ecstatic after securing his maiden pole position in Hungary.
Vasseur said: “This was not an easy pole as we struggled in Q1 and Q2 to get the tyres in the right window and we were not far off having both our cars out in Q2. Conditions were changing massively, with even some rain in Q2.
“Then in the end, Charles found the way to put the tyres in the right window and the correct spot on the out lap. It was a mega lap and it’s a very positive performance seeing that the delta between P10 and P1 is so small.
“Lewis was very close to Charles and failed to make the cut by just 15 thousandths of a second. He will definitely have a tough time in the race.”
Chadwick: Hamilton definitely not useless
Sky Sports F1 pundit and former W Series champion Jamie Chadwick disagreed with Hamilton’s self-assessment as she described his comments as “a hard listen”.
Chadwick said: “Really difficult and it’s definitely not the driver. He’s definitely not useless.
“It’s a hard listen hearing him say that because I don’t think the Lewis that we know is that self-critical, but recently we’ve started to hear this.
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Charles Leclerc took a surprise pole position in his Ferrari at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday.
“Last year at Mercedes, particularly around qualifying, he started to allude to really struggling with qualifying and he was very self-critical. It was hard to listen to because that’s not the confident nature that he carries himself with.
“He’s admitted that the car’s on pole, it’s not the car, it’s him. But I find that hard to believe. There might be a tenth or so between them.
“Today it was a bad moment to have a bad lap, and that put him out in Q2, and Charles then managed to go to put it on pole. It’s very hard to pinpoint. They’ve got the data, they can see why.
“Before, Charles was talking about different directions of setup, and maybe as the temperatures dropped it helped a little bit more.”
Sky Sports F1’s Hungarian GP Schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments throughout the years at the Hungarian Grand Prix
Sunday August 3
7.25am: F3 Feature Race
8.55am: F2 Feature Race
10.40am: Porsche Supercup Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Hungarian GP build-up*
2pm: The HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Chequered Flag: Hungarian GP reaction
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in Budapest at the Hungarian Grand Prix for the final race before the sport’s summer break, watch live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday. For Sky customers, Sky Sports F1 is now found on channel 407. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
