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After the most difficult weekend of his Ferrari career so far at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton insisted he still “loves” Formula 1.
After qualifying 12th on the grid, Hamilton, the seven-time champion, had declared himself “just useless,” while Charles Leclerc, Ferrari’s first grand prix pole position of the season, took his place on Saturday.
Hamilton finished in the same position on Sunday, while Leclerc, who had fought for the first two-thirds of the race with the race-winning McLarens, lost to fourth place, his car apparently suffering from a problem in the final stint.
Hamilton claimed that after qualifying, he felt “the same.” He continued, “There’s a lot going on in the background that’s not great, so.” He added, “I’m sure there are lessons to be learned from the weekend.”
Hamilton frequently finds himself struggling, and the F1 rumor mill spins into a frenzy as well.
Some people questioned after qualifying whether Hamilton had overridden the hill. At the end of the year, or perhaps even before the season’s end, would he even leave Ferrari?
Hamilton, at least, refrained from saying he would return to the car at the end of August after F1’s summer break, saying he did.
He declared, “I’m looking forward to coming back.” “I’ll be back, yeah”.
Anyone who has heard about Hamilton’s resolve and unwavering resolve knows the answers to the other future questions.
Leclerc’s performance at least gives him some room to grow optimistic in the wake of some improvements to the Ferrari.
There have definitely been some improvements made to the upgrades, Hamilton said. It’s unfortunate that we’re not as competitive as the front-running competitors, but Charles has shown promise in his previous two races.
What is his/her boss’ opinion?
Hamilton’s situation was given some perspective by team principal Frederic Vasseur.
When your team-mate is in pole position and you are out of Q2, according to Vasseur, “it’s a tough situation.”
Vasseur criticized Ferrari for using a one-stop strategy on a track where overtaking is infamously challenging, and that it “didn’t work” in terms of the race result.
Lewis’ “I can understand your frustration,” he said, “but this is normal and he will come back.”
Vasseur, who played a key role in convincing Hamilton to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari this season, argued that the results in Hungary made his driver’s weekend appear worse than it actually was.
Yes, after the second session, Hamilton was 0.247 seconds slower than Leclerc. However, Leclerc himself had struggled to advance, and Hamilton was only 0.155secs behind his team-mate in the opening session.
After a difficult start to his Ferrari career, Hamilton’s positive momentum has stalled over the past two races.
There hasn’t been much choice between the two drivers since Miami in early May, and Hamilton outqualified Leclerc in three of the four races before Belgium, which came a week before Hungary.
Hamilton appeared uncompetitive when he was anything but due to two different kinds of errors in the qualifying sessions for the sprint and grand prix at Spa.
Hamilton was pace in Belgium, but he lost in the first session of sprint qualifying after an off-start and a spin brought on by a combination of factors involving a new braking material. The same happened when he erred when he evaded the 180-mph+ swerves at Eau Rouge and slightly exceeded the track’s restrictions while qualifying for the grand prix.
Hamilton’s average qualifying deficit to Leclerc is 0.146 seconds this year, even with the issues in Belgium and Hungary and the need to adapt to a new car with very different characteristics at the start of the season.
Hamilton might not expect that from himself, but it should be taken into account when Leclerc is regarded by Ferrari and many other F1 drivers as the fastest driver in the world after a single lap.
Hamilton’s critics criticize his struggles with George Russell during his final year at Mercedes.
The 40-year-old discovered that the ground-effect cars that were introduced into Formula One in 2022 do not fit both his late-braking style and those of the previous generation. And it continues to be a mystery whether or not he has been able to adapt as well as he should have, or perhaps even better than other drivers.
Vasseur, however, refuted any suggestion that Hamilton’s circumstances might concern him.
What is the opinion of his former boss?
Hamilton’s former team boss at Mercedes, Toto Wolff, was questioned about his depressing self-assessment.
Lewis allegedly wore his heart on the sleeve, he claimed. He expressed his thoughts on the subject when he was questioned after the session. It was very raw.
He has been that emotionally sensitive since he was a young boy or young adult, and we have it in the past when he felt that his team-mate is on top of his own expectations.
Wolff stated that Hamilton’s general performances were the result of “nobody’s going to take that away.” “He’s the GOAT, and he’ll always be the GOAT.” He must always remember that he is the greatest of all time, something that needs to be repeated.
Lewis’ Formula 1 work has been finished. We’ve never been happy with ground-effect cars, much like Mercedes has since underperformed with this most recent set of regulations since 2022. And it bit him in the same way.
It might be related to driving style. Therefore, he shouldn’t leave. Next year will bring brand-new, entirely new power-units that require an intelligent energy management strategy.
Wolff was pressed to confirm that Hamilton would still be able to capture the elusive eighth title.
He responded, “Yes, if he has a car underneath him that gives him confidence and does what he wants.”
“If he has a car that doesn’t give him the feedback he wants, and that’s the Mercedes from the past few years, and that seems to be the Ferrari, and even worse, then not,” he said.
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