Formula One F1 - Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary - August 2, 2025 Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton during practice REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo
BUDAPEST (Reuters) -A despondent Lewis Hamilton said he was "useless" and suggested Ferrari needed another driver after qualifying 12th for the Hungarian Grand Prix with teammate Charles Leclerc on pole position.
The seven-time Formula One world champion, who is 40 and the second oldest driver on the grid, has an unrivalled record in Hungary with eight wins and nine poles but Saturday's performance was far from those heights.
"It's me every time. I'm useless, absolutely useless," he told Sky Sports television when explaining why he had said "every time, every time" over the radio after failing to make the cut by 15 thousandths of a second.
"The team have no problem. You've seen the car's on pole.
"So we probably need to change driver."
Hamilton joined Ferrari from Mercedes in January and has yet to stand on the podium for Formula One's oldest, most glamorous and successful team although he did win the Shanghai sprint from pole in March.
Leclerc has had five top three finishes in 13 races so far this season.
Questioned later by F1 TV about his bleak assessment, Hamilton doubled down: "I drove terribly. It is what it is," he said.
The Briton has not won a grand prix for more than a year now and his podium drought -- a run of 15 races -- is the longest of a record-breaking career that started spectacularly in 2007.
He is 30 points behind Leclerc in the standings and has beaten the Monegasque only twice in 13 grand prix starts.
In qualifying, Hamilton's big weak spot of late despite 104 career poles, Leclerc leads 10-4.
Hamilton had recognised earlier in the week the challenge he has faced at Maranello and said he needed to get away and recharge during the August break and there were sure to be "some tears at some point."
"The last god knows how many seasons have been hard in their own way," added the winner of a record 105 races from 369 starts. "This one has definitely been the most intense one, I would say, just from a work perspective," he told reporters.
"Integrating into a new culture and into a new team. It's not gone smoothly in all areas, and it's been a real battle."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Pritha Sarkar)
