Lewis Hamilton himself said in Hungary that he was useless and needed to be replaced, but for George Russell, that’s nothing but nonsense—Zandvoort as a fresh start
It was an interview that caused quite a stir. When Lewis Hamilton stood in front of the microphones after qualifying in Hungary, he looked like a beaten dog. “Useless, absolutely useless,” he said about himself and advised Ferrari to find another driver – that’s how down he was after missing out on Q3 for the third time in a row.
Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton – it’s not working out yet. What was supposed to be a dream marriage has so far been a hellish ride. He has only seen the checkered flag ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc in two Grands Prix, and in qualifying, the record world champion is also being blown away by the Monegasque driver with a score of 10:4.
Before the summer break, he clearly found it difficult to remain positive, but his former teammate George Russell does not agree that he is useless and should be replaced: “Of course he’s talking nonsense,” he clarified on Thursday in Zandvoort. “After all, he’s the best driver of all time.”
He believes that Hamilton’s emotions simply boiled over immediately after qualifying. “When you have a bad day, that’s how it feels. When you have a good day, the world looks completely different again,” he said, buttering up his compatriot.
“He is and remains an exceptional driver. He won the sprint in China right at the start of the season – that shows he’s still got it,” Russell praised, knowing that Formula 1 is “not an easy sport” – “especially when the team is not performing at the absolute top level. That exacerbates the problem.”
“I think after 14 races, almost every driver – with the exception of maybe two – is eagerly looking forward to 2026, to the chance to fight for the world championship with a fresh start. And that’s exactly what someone like Lewis lives for: the big titles, not the little things.”
Fresh from the summer break
At least the summer break seems to have done the Ferrari driver good. Although he says that not much has changed in principle, “the good thing about the break was that you could really pull the plug and reset,” says Hamilton.
“Especially last week, I had time to go through exactly where we stand, what we want to improve, which processes we want to adjust, and which new approaches we want to try. I see a lot of potential. Even if the first half of the season didn’t necessarily look positive from the outside, there were still many positive approaches that we can build on.”
He is entering the autumn phase of the season “determined and motivated,” as he emphasizes. The goal: to work hard, change a few things in our approach, and above all, have fun again. That wasn’t often the case in the early stages.
The main thing is to finally have fun again
“There was so much pressure on us in the first half of the season, it wasn’t exactly the most enjoyable time,” Hamilton admits. “Now it’s about remembering why we do this in the first place: because we love it. We’re all in the same boat and want to enjoy it together.”
For him, fun is “the most important thing” and the reason why he got into motorsport in the first place. “No matter what job you do, if you don’t enjoy it, why do it at all?” he asks.
“There’s often so much noise around you that you lose sight of what really matters. That’s why I say: I want to focus all my energy on regaining that enjoyment. I’ve joined the team I’ve dreamed of being a part of my whole life. But with all the noise around it, that has somehow faded into the background.“
”Now it’s about putting that aside and refocusing on the pure passion for what we do.”
He doesn’t see the signs as being all that bad, because Ferrari has made “great progress” and is developing in the right direction. “We’ve been able to fine-tune the new parts that came after Spa, or whenever, much more precisely. And race after race, we’re getting a little bit more out of them,” said Hamilton.
“No one succeeds without going through tough times”
And maybe the Ferrari/Hamilton combination will turn out to be the dream marriage he hoped for after all—at least he sounds more combative after the break than he did before. “It was never the case that I just got in and won everything straight away,” he said. “There were always difficult times.”
“I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like to become complacent or comfortable. That’s exactly where I had arrived in my long-standing relationship with the old team,” said Hamilton. “That’s why the move to a new team was a conscious decision: I really believe in the potential here—and I still believe in what we can achieve together. And so does the entire team.”
“No one succeeds without going through tough times. That’s why I accept it. But of course, I’m also looking forward to the sunnier days.”
