Hamilton called himself 'useless': 'Ferrari probably need to change driver'

Lewis Hamilton has delivered a stunning and self-deprecating assessment of his performance at the Hungarian Grand Prix, labeling himself "useless" and suggesting that Ferrari "probably need to change driver" after yet another disappointing qualifying session. The seven-time world champion’s challenging first campaign with the Italian team reached a new low point as he was knocked out in Q2, qualifying a distant 12th. This was in stark contrast to his teammate Charles Leclerc, who surprised the heavily fancied McLarens to claim a shock pole position at the Hungaroring.

Hamilton's latest setback follows his early exits in both the Sprint and full-length qualifying sessions at the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend. The qualifying head-to-head battle between the two drivers now stands at a decisive 12-5 in favor of Leclerc.

Following his elimination from a circuit where he holds a record nine pole positions, a visibly frustrated Hamilton exclaimed, "every time, every time," over the Ferrari team radio. In a candid post-session interview with Sky Sports F1, when asked about his radio comments, he delivered a shocking response.

"It's me every time," Hamilton said. "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."

Aside from a Sprint pole and victory at the second race of the season in China, the much-anticipated partnership between the sport’s most famous driver and team has yielded little success. Hamilton has yet to secure a grand prix podium in 13 race appearances for Ferrari, while Leclerc is now in a prime position to claim what would be his sixth top-three finish of the year on Sunday.

The 40-year-old had previously hinted at his struggles on Thursday in Hungary, where he told reporters he expected to shed "some tears" during the upcoming summer break, describing his first season in red as a "real battle."

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur suggested that Hamilton was simply unlucky to be eliminated by such a small margin before the track conditions improved in Q3. Vasseur noted, "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."

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Sky Sports F1 pundit and former W Series champion Jamie Chadwick quickly disagreed with Hamilton's harsh self-assessment, calling his comments "a hard listen."

"Really difficult and it's definitely not the driver. He's definitely not useless," Chadwick said. "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. 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."

Chadwick suggested that while Hamilton's comments point the blame at himself, the situation is more nuanced. "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."

Hamilton will now start the Hungarian Grand Prix from the sixth row of the grid, with a significant challenge ahead to recover positions and secure a points-paying finish.