Useless Lewis Hamilton reaches new low at Hungarian Grand Prix
A crestfallen Lewis Hamilton declared himself 'useless' after qualifying in 12th position for the Hungarian Grand Prix as Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc surged to pole position.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton exited the session in Q2 with his head down and his helmet on as the 40-year-old retreated to the team's motor home.
He was one of several casualties on a day of wet and wild conditions.
'I'm useless,' said the British driver.
Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
'Absolutely useless. The team has no problem. You've seen the car on pole so they probably need to change driver.'
While series leader Oscar Piastri and the Australian's McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris found themselves unable to cope with changing conditions in the final minutes, Leclerc improved his lap time to snatch his unexpected pole.
It was his first at the Hungaroring, his first this year and first since last year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku as well as the 27th of his career. It was Ferrari's first pole in Hungary since Sebastian Vettel in 2017.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fifth ahead of teammate Lance Stroll, the pair enjoying their best qualifying of the season, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto seventh ahead of Red Bull's four-time champion Max Verstappen and the two Racing Bulls rookies Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar.
Hamilton, meanwhile, was backed to bounce back by four-time champion Verstappen who himself ranted about his Red Bull car and team after struggling to line up eighth on the grid.
'Looking at the whole weekend, I think we're happy to be in Q3 because I've been more outside the top 10 than in it — so, yeah, it's been difficult this whole weekend,' said the Dutch driver.
'No grip, front and rear, and it was the same in qualifying so, for me, it was not really a shock. I just drove to what I already feel the whole weekend.'
The 27-year-old Dutchman added that Red Bull — who had left a towel in his cockpit during a pit stop on Friday which led him to throw it out of the car, 24 hours after he had declared he was staying for 2026 — did not yet understand the problems with the car.
'No, clearly not,' he said. 'I mean, otherwise, of course, we would have changed it already, but somehow, this weekend, nothing seems to work.'
Last year, Verstappen said he had been quick enough to challenge for pole, but this season, 'from lap one, it just felt off — and we threw the car around a lot and nothing really gave a direction.
'Now, it's just nothing works. You know, it's like just going around in circles and nothing gives you any kind of idea of what to do.'
Looking ahead to Sunday's race, he said: 'There may be a few cars in front of me that I can maybe battle with a little bit and, of course, Lewis is still a bit further down the road which, I think, he shouldn't be there right? So, he will come through a bit.'
The two multiple champions, who battled so intensely in 2021 when Verstappen claimed his first title after a controversial victory in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, appear to have found a rapprochement and mutual respect.
But Hamilton's heart-on-sleeve vulnerability as he seeks his first Ferrari podium after 13 races this year may soon become a sad ending story if he cannot sort out his qualifying woes.
As the record-holder of nine poles and a record eight wins at the Hungaroring, he has to produce a rousing reminder of his best racing days on Sunday, as Verstappen expects.
Starting grid for 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix
Front row Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari), Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren)
2nd row Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren), George Russell (GBR/Mercedes)
3rd row Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin), Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin)
4th row Gabriel Bortoleto (BRA/Sauber), Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull)
5th row Liam Lawson (NZL/RB), Isack Hadjar (FRA/RB)
6th row Oliver Bearman (GBR/Haas), Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Ferrari)
7th row Carlos Sainz (ESP/Williams), Franco Colapinto (ARG/Alpine)
8th row Kimi Antonelli (ITA/Mercedes), Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/Red Bull)
9th row Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine), Esteban Ocon (FRA/Haas)
10th row Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Sauber), Alex Albon (THA/Williams)
Originally published as 'I'm useless': Lewis Hamilton reaches new low at Hungarian Grand Prix
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Herald Sun
2 hours ago
- Herald Sun
AFL Round 21 Review
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. The AFL Today Show is here for all your Round 21 needs, wrapping up every single game with stats, banter and insights as Adelaide move to the top of the ladder with a huge win over Hawthorn and Jezza moves closer to the ton, with Geelong feeding him the ball at all opportunities! The show panel also go through all the biggest questions after Round 21, with finals, records and debates all covered! Can Adelaide win the Premiership in 2025? Is Brodie Grundy in career best form? Will Hawthorn miss the finals from here? Which young tall forward is the best right now? Would you rather the Daicos or Ashcroft brothers? Did Collingwood peak too early in the season? Can Fremantle continue to win close games? The panel chat about the biggest AFL news, amazing moments, huge match-ups, plus highlighting the biggest & best moments, led by young star forward Logan Morris & if Port Adelaide have a wasted season after another incredible round of footy! Finals is discussed with the Bulldogs strong percentage are the Hawks and Giants the biggest chances to miss the eight and what is a pass mark for sides from here? Get around the AFL Today Show with panelists Liam McAllion, Marcus Bazzano & Leo Mullaly as they talk out all things footy for the 2025 AFL season! Errol Gulden of the Swans celebrates with Brodie Grundy at the SCG. Picture: Matt King/AFL Photos/for Getty Images FOLLOW AFL TODAY SHOW CONTENT The AFL Today Show is your ultimate footy companion, covering every single team equally and in depth! We break down each game and round of the 2025 season with three shows a week, expert tips, social posts galore, in-depth analysis, debates, interviews with players and top journalists, as well as plenty of banter—chatting about all the things that make AFL great! Two shows every week, including a round preview show and a round wrap on every game! YouTube: Instagram: TikTok: Facebook: X: Originally published as WATCH AFL Round 21 Review: Flag Crows & Grundy Record - AFL Today Show
Herald Sun
2 hours ago
- Herald Sun
Little River Primary's Mason Luczo qualifies for national cross country
Don't miss out on the headlines from Geelong. Followed categories will be added to My News. When Mason Luczo was little his parents were told he might never walk, but this plucky ten-year-old is now blazing his own trail as a cross country champion. The Little River primary school student – who has cerebral palsy – is headed to the national cross country championships for the 9/10 multi-class on the Gold Coast, after coming second at the state level. 'I just tried my best,' the humble grade four student said. 'I've not met a child that's as determined as him. He sees something and works really hard to get there,' mother Steph Luczo said. Mason has an older brother and a twin, all three boys take part in a variety of sports including cricket and basketball. 'He's very competitive with his brothers,' Ms Luczo said. Principal Gavin Nelson said the school was proud of Mason's achievements. 'He's really good at sport. His disability hasn't stopped him do anything,' Mr Nelson said. Mason will take part in a 2km individual race and relay at the nationals in September. His family will be cheering on their 'little superstar' from the sidelines, Mason says he hopes it spurs him and the Victorian team to victory. Originally published as Little River Primary's Mason Luczo qualifies for national cross country
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Conspiracy theory twist after Charles Leclerc's radio blow up at Ferrari
Charles Leclerc slammed his own team in a blistering radio message at the Hungarian Grand Prix as his frustration with Ferrari's strategy calls continued. Leclerc took a surprise pole position at the Hungaroring and would have been aiming to at least finish on the podium in the main race. Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. The 27-year-old from Monaco was furious over team radio during the race, blaming Ferrari for an unmentioned issue with his car. Leclerc started the race superbly, leading for the first 20 laps before his first pit stop to give him hope of victory. But he bizarrely fell well off the pace in his final stint, getting overtaken by George Russell, who snuck onto the podium behind race winner Lando Norris, who benefited from a one-stop strategy to beat Oscar Piastri. 'This is so incredibly frustrating,' Leclerc raged in a lengthy team radio message to Ferrari you can watch above. 'We have lost all competitiveness. 'You just had to listen to me, I would have found a different way of managing those issues. 'Now it's just undrivable. Undrivable. It's a miracle if we finish on the podium.' He did walk back his comments after the race, saying his dramatic drop off in pace in his final stint was due to a chassis issue with his car. 'First of all, I need to take back the words I've said on the radio,' Leclerc said post-race. 'Because I thought that it was coming from one thing but then I got a lot more details since I got out the car, and it was actually an issue coming from the chassis, and nothing that we could have done differently. 'I started to feel the issue in Lap 40, or something like that, and it got worse lap after lap after lap. Towards the end, we were two seconds off the pace and the car was just undrivable. 'I repeat myself, but this was an issue, and it's an outlier. It shouldn't ever happen again. I'm still very disappointed we had one opportunity this year to win a race, which I think was this weekend. 'The first stint was perfect. The first laps of the second stint were really good as well, and I think we were in pace to try and win that race. 'The last stint was a disaster when I started to have that issue.' Theory Ferrari tried to avoid DQ George Russell, who overtook Leclerc late in the race, floated the theory Ferrari were using a specific engine mode and raising tyre pressure to look after the plank underneath Leclerc's car, slowing him down to avoid a potential disqualification. 'I saw how close he was, something was not right,' Russell explained. 'The only think we can think is that they were running the car too close to the ground and they had to increase the tyre pressure for the last stint, because they were using an engine mode which makes the engine slower at the end of the straight, which is where you have the most amount of plank wear.' Both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were — an issue Ferrari have had to manage throughout the season. If the 10mm plank wears down more than 1mm during a race, the car is disqualified. Sky Sports analyst Anthony Davidson noticed sparks flying from underneath Leclerc's car at the start of the race. 'It's really hard for all the teams to get right,' Davidson said. 'You want it for qualifying but then you dump a load of fuel, around 100kg, go into it heavier with colder tyres. You can do a lot of damage to plank wear. 'When you come to the final pit stop and they're worried about the car being too low, therefore the plank wear being too high … 'He comes in. The next set of tyres going on, if they're boosted pressures, it plays havoc with grip. It's a good case study from George. It's funny how the teams analyse each other. 'They've got all the data and they knew exactly what was going on with Leclerc's straight-line speed. 'I was in the pitlane and I said it would be hard for Leclerc to be overtaken because he's been quick all weekend down the straight. But he was like a sitting duck which was a real surprise to me. 'The other teams have seen the data. They have seen the straight line speed drop throughout the race. At maximum speed you are doing most downforce and the biggest damage to the plank. 'The set of tyres which went on might have had unwanted pressure, they overheat quicker, and there goes your grip.' 'It was a preventative measure,' Bernie Collins said on Sky Sports. 'Raising tyre pressure raises the ride height, that's why you get less plank wear. 'It's very small but with these cars millimetres make a difference. 'That is a preventive measure, it's a way of preventing the plank hitting so much. They can see how much the plank is contacting on the earlier stints. They can take the pace for the earlier stints but maybe not the whole race. 'George mentioned maybe they turned down the engines so the car is not so fast. If the car is not so fast on the straight, you take off downforce, and the rear of the car will lift up. 'Both methods will prevent the plank being in contact with the ground. Leclerc appeared to hint at the plank wear issue on radio late in the race, saying: 'I can feel what we discussed before the race. We need to discuss those things, before doing those. 'We are going to lose this race with these things. We are losing so much time.' Leclerc ultimately missed the podium and finished fourth — he has 27 career pole positions but has only converted those into a race wins five times. Leclerc and Hamilton have repeatedly clashed with their race engineers over team radio, disagreeing about strategy decisions, tyre choices or being frustrated about being spoken to during key parts of the race. Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur signed a multi-year contract extension with the team last week. Lewis Hamilton sounds like a broken man Fans were also concerned for Lewis Hamilton after his own dejected message to his Ferrari colleagues. Hamilton had a nightmare Hungarian Grand Prix today, finishing in a disappointing 12th. The seven-time world champion failed to pick up any points and sounded like a broken man over the team radio post-race. Hamilton said: 'Really sorry about this weekend guys, for losing you points.' He also reportedly sat in his car for some time after parking it up. It comes after the Brit's woeful qualifying session yesterday that saw him exit in Q2 while teammate Leclerc secured a shock pole. Hamilton again sounded crestfallen over the team radio, saying: 'It's me every time. I'm useless, absolutely useless. 'The team have no problem. You've seen the car's on pole so we probably need to change driver.' Told by a member of the Ferrari team that his assessment was wrong, Hamilton replied: 'It clearly is. I just drove terribly. It is what it is.' Fans were left shocked by Hamilton's comments over the weekend, with one saying: 'Champions apologise even when they don't have to. That's why he's different.' Hamilton is yet to finish on the podium since making the move from Mercedes this season, while Leclerc has five podiums this year but is still chasing his first win of the season.
