Motor racing-Hamilton still down after difficult Hungarian weekend
BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Lewis Hamilton said there was a lot going on in the background after he finished 12th in the Hungarian Grand Prix, a day after calling himself useless and suggesting Ferrari should find a replacement.
The seven-times world champion cut a despondent figure, giving only terse replies to media questions about the race and his earlier words, but confirmed he would return after the August break.
"I look forward to coming back," he said.
"Hopefully, I will be back, yeah."
On Saturday Hamilton had told reporters that "it's me every time. I'm useless, absolutely useless" and said Ferrari "probably need to change driver."
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur said Hamilton, the most successful F1 driver of all time but lapped on Sunday, was demanding of everyone but most of all of himself.
He said it was a tough situation to be 12th on the grid, at a circuit where he has won a record eight times and been on pole nine, when teammate Charles Leclerc qualified in first place.
"I can understand the frustration from Lewis, that this is normal," added the Frenchman. "So we will be back and we will perform.
"I don't need to motivate him. Honestly, he's frustrated, but not demotivated. It's a completely different story."
Leclerc ultimately finished fourth after leading for much of the race.
Hamilton's former Mercedes boss Toto Wolff also spoke out strongly in the 40-year-old Briton's defence, calling his Saturday comments just "Lewis wearing his heart on his sleeve.
"It was very raw. It was out of himself and we had it in the past when he felt that he underperformed his own expectations," added the Austrian.
"He's been that emotional, emotionally transparent since he was a young boy, a young adult. So he's got to beat himself up.
"He's the GOAT (greatest of all time) and will always be the GOAT and nobody's going to take that away."
Wolff said also that he was sure Hamilton had unfinished business in Formula One, after losing controversially in 2021 what would have been a record eighth title, and still had what it takes.
"He shouldn't go anywhere next year," said the Mercedes boss. "Brand new cars, completely different to drive, new power units... I hope he stays on for many more years and certainly next year is going to be an important one."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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