George Russell responds to 'nonsense' Lewis Hamilton claims

George Russell has said Lewis Hamilton was "talking nonsense" with the comments he made following a dismal qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver branded himself "absolutely useless" after only being able to go 12th-fastest at the Hungaroring, and suggested the Italian team needed to replace him to improve results. 

However, his former Mercedes team-mate does not believe those remarks are a true reflection of how the seven-time F1 drivers' champion feels.

Ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, which ends F1's summer break, the Briton highlighted how drivers are in front of the press only mere minutes after getting out of the car following a session, underlining how raw the emotional reaction can be.

So, when asked if he felt Hamilton was "talking nonsense" at the previous round, Russell agreed.

"Yeah, of course, he's talking nonsense when he says something like that, because he's the greatest driver of all time, I think," he told media, including RacingNews365.

"A situation like that, when you go from the racetrack and you're in front of the media within 10 minutes, you have all of these emotions.

"When you have a bad day, that's how you feel. When you have a good day, everything changes."

Coming to Hamilton's defence

Hamilton has endured a torrid start to his Ferrari tenure, failing to secure a grand prix podium finish in the first 14 rounds of the campaign.

He is edging closer to setting the unwanted record of most races with the Scuderia before a trip to the rostrum, a title he would take from Didier Pironi, who went 19 races before his first top three for the Maranello squad.

Nonetheless, Russell is adamant that Hamilton can still perform and produce the results expected of him when he joined the Prancing Horse.

"He's still an exceptional driver," the four-time grand prix winner added.

"We saw it... he obviously won the sprint straight away at the start of the year, in China. He's clearly still got it."

The Mercedes driver pointed out that Ferrari is also not at the peak of its powers currently, and that fighting against the established Charles Leclerc is no easy proposition.

"But Formula 1 is not an easy sport, and especially if the team is not performing at the highest level, that compounds the issue," he said. "And, of course, Charles is an amazing driver too.

"So I think right now, 14 races down, probably every driver, bar two, are looking forward to 2026 for a fresh opportunity to fight for a championship - and for someone like Lewis, that's what he sort of lives for, not just getting in the points."