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July 19, 2026
Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur claims the cryptic Lewis Hamilton comments following a challenging Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix weekend were out of “frustration” and not “demotivation”.
The seven-time world champion renowned for his mental tenacity as much as his remarkable talent behind the wheel, arrived at the Hungaroring with uncharacteristic form.
Since his 2025 F1 Ferrari debut, Lewis Hamilton is still searching for a breakthrough with the iconic team after 14 races as consistent performance proves to be elusive.
The F1 Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying further underlined Hamilton’s struggles after he was eliminated in Q2, ultimately lining up twelfth on the grid, while teammate Charles Leclerc took an emphatic pole—a symbolic contrast that could not go unnoticed.
Hamilton’s disappointment erupted in a sequence of raw, remarkably self-critical interviews where he described himself as “useless” and suggested that Ferrari would “probably need to change the driver.”
Lewis Hamilton comments sent shockwaves through the Formula 1 world—not least because his candor contrasted with the more measured post-race rhetoric that fans had come to expect from a driver of his caliber.
Observers immediately began parsing his remarks for hints of burnout, loss of motivation, or even the prospect of early Ferrari exit.
However, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur told SKY Sports F1 that Hamilton’s remarks were due to frustration after falling short of his personal expectations.
“I don’t need to motivate him, honestly,” said Vasseur who recently signed a multi-year contract extension with the team. “He’s frustrated but not demotivated, it’s a completely different story.
“Again, I can perfectly understand the situation and you can, sometimes you are making comments on what the driver is saying to the car, but if you put the microphone on some other sportsman in football and so on, I’m not sure that it would be much better.
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“Sometimes they are making [rash] comments, even when they jump out of the car.I can understand the frustration, but we are all frustrated and sometimes if you ask me, I can’t say this, I will go to the stewards.
“But sometimes just after the race, or just after the Quali, you are very disappointed and the reaction, the first reaction is harsh, but we all know that we are pushing in the same direction.”
Additionally, Hamilton’s record at the Hungaroring remains unmatched—eight wins and nine poles—making his struggles all the more pronounced.
The British driver ultimately concluded the race down in 12th, while his teammate Leclerc was unable to convert his pole into a podium and finished in 4th, with a 5-second time penalty for ‘erratic’ driving adding to his troubles.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton vows to “come back stronger” after dismal F1 Hungarian GP
