Hamilton Reaffirms His Love for Ferrari Despite Difficulties
Lewis Hamilton, after a complicated weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix, insisted on his love for Ferrari despite the challenges he has faced. After a disappointing qualifying session at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Hamilton expressed his frustration, describing himself as “useless”. He added that the team had no problems and that they might need to change the drivers. The race on Sunday did not bring significant improvements for Hamilton, who started and finished in 12th position. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, who had secured pole position, the first of the season for the team, finished in fourth place. Hamilton, who joined Ferrari with great anticipation this year, looked dejected in the press area after the race in Budapest.When asked if he still loved to compete, he replied: “Yes, I still love it… I still love the team.” When asked if he was looking forward to the summer break and if he would be driving again in the next race in Zandvoort on August 31, Hamilton said: “I’m really looking forward to coming back… I hope to be back, yes.” Hamilton has won eight times at the Hungaroring, a record, but this has been a worrying weekend for the 40-year-old driver. Apart from a victory in the sprint race in China earlier in the season, the results have been disappointing and he has yet to finish on the podium in a Grand Prix. Hamilton, on the initial lap, fell behind Carlos Sainz and Antonelli, ending up in 14th position. At the end of the eighth lap, he was 20 seconds behind Leclerc, who was leading in the other Ferrari, and at the end of lap 14, he was half a minute behind his teammate. When he exited the pits on lap 43 for his only tire change, Hamilton was one lap behind the leaders. He managed to overtake Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and then Sainz to cross the finish line in 12th place. The Briton is 42 points behind Leclerc, has been outperformed by his teammate in 10 of the 14 rounds and has only beaten him in two races (Imola and Silverstone), and is still waiting for his first podium with the Ferrari colors. Former boss Toto Wolff said he wasn’t surprised to hear Hamilton, who won six of his championships with Mercedes, speak so frankly. “That’s Lewis showing what he feels. It’s what he thought when asked after the session,” Wolff said on Sunday night. “It was very raw. He was disappointed in himself. We’ve seen it in the past when he felt he hadn’t met his own expectations. “He has been emotionally transparent since he was a young adult. “He will blame himself. But he is the GOAT [greatest of all time] and will always be the GOAT. Nothing will take that away from him, not a single weekend or racing season that hasn’t gone as planned. That’s something he should always remember: that he is the greatest of all time.”When asked about his comments from the previous day and how he felt, the seven-time champion replied: “Not particularly, when you have a feeling, you have a feeling, there are many things happening in the background… that’s not great”.
Lewis Hamilton
