Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton delivered a stunning and brutally honest assessment of his own performance after a disastrous qualifying session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, going so far as to suggest his Ferrari team should replace him.
The British driver’s frustration was palpable after he was eliminated in 12th position, failing to make the final qualifying segment. The result was thrown into even starker relief by his teammate Charles Leclerc, who secured Ferrari’s first pole position of the season on the same circuit.
Hamilton placed the blame squarely on his own shoulders, offering no excuses regarding his car’s performance or on-track impediments. He was simply over two-tenths of a second slower than Leclerc when it mattered most.
“It’s me every single time. I’m useless, completely useless,” Hamilton stated. “The team has no issues. You saw the car is on pole. We probably need to change drivers.”
The veteran driver’s immediate reaction after crossing the line told the story, with radio communications capturing his exasperation as he repeated “every time, every time” to his race engineer. He was later seen walking back to the team hospitality area, visibly dejected with his gloves held to his helmet.
This latest setback compounds recent struggles for Hamilton, who described his qualifying error at the previous Belgian Grand Prix as “unacceptable,” where he managed only 16th on the grid. The Hungaroring has historically been one of his strongest circuits, with eight previous victories and nine pole positions to his name, making Saturday’s performance particularly difficult to accept.
The 2025 season has presented significant challenges for Hamilton since his high-profile move from Mercedes to Ferrari. While he secured a sprint race victory in China, he has yet to finish on the podium in a main Grand Prix this year—his longest such drought in his Formula 1 career.
Meanwhile, championship leader Oscar Piastri and his McLaren teammate Lando Norris had to settle for second and third positions respectively after Leclerc’s surprise pole. The Monegasque driver edged out Piastri by just 0.026 seconds, with Norris a further 0.015 seconds behind.
Leclerc expressed his own surprise at the result, noting the challenging conditions throughout qualifying. “I don’t understand anything in Formula One right now,” he admitted. “The whole session was extremely difficult. To end up with pole position is probably one of my best and most unexpected qualifying performances.”
