F1’s Veteran Driver Calls Himself ‘Absolutely Useless’
Lewis Hamilton delivered one of the most brutally self-critical interviews of his career after a shocking P12 qualifying at the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix. He confessed: “I’m useless. Absolutely useless” and even suggested that Ferrari might “need to change driver”. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc grabbed pole for Ferrari after Hamilton failed to reach Q3. This continues his post-Belgian GP despair, where qualifying 16th in Belgium added fuel to growing doubts. This two-race collapse underlines a performance crisis that goes beyond machines. At the Hungaroring, Hamilton was knocked out in Q2, failing to match the pace of his teammate. He stood more than two tenths slower than Leclerc, who managed Ferrari’s first pole of the season. Hamilton made no excuses, “the team have no problem, you’ve seen the car on pole,” instead insisting the underperformance was solely his own. In contrast, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur cited a tyre temperature issue as a key factor for the poor lap. Yet Hamilton’s remarks suggested far deeper frustration, calling for potential driver replacement shows how personally he senses the crisis.
Just one round earlier, at Spa’s Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton exited in Q1, stumbled on a track limits penalty, and qualified an unthinkable P16 for Ferrari, later apologizing to the team as being “unacceptable.” He called it a “painful” weekend with multiple mistakes, this after Leclerc had qualified P3 and scored a podium, further showing Hamilton’s underperformance. That Belgium weekend felt like the first serious crack in Hamilton’s confidence; Budapest widened the chasm. On the competitive front, the head-to-head comparison underlines just how deep Hamilton’s slump is. Leclerc leads the 2025 qualifying head-to-head 10–4, continuing dominance in this domain. Meanwhile, Hamilton trails passage of the season by around 30 championship points, with Leclerc already scoring five podiums compared to just one sprint race win for Hamilton. At 40, Hamilton is ageless on paper, but he’s suddenly struggling to find the grip and edge that once made him Mercedes’ king. The SF‑25 seems capable as a podium contender, Leclerc proves it, but Hamilton looks daily outpaced over a lap.
The psychological aspect is even more concerning. Hamilton’s repeated radio refrain, “every time, every time,” shows a man second-guessing himself on track. Asking his new team to consider replacing him is more than frustration; it’s vulnerability. He has said this is his most “intense season ever” and plans to use the August break not just to rest, but to reflect on his Ferrari tenure. His candid self-analysis is admirable, but Ferrari is not known for extended grace that goes unreturned. Hamilton's harsh public self-judgment and stark contrast with Leclerc have placed both his on-track value and mental resilience under the hardest scrutiny of his career. He has made it clear: he blames himself, not the car, yet that honesty may jeopardize more than it redeems if results don’t improve fast.
