Lewis Hamilton comments 'horrible' after being hit with 'double whammy'

Lewis Hamilton's self-deprecating comments have been described as "horrible" and "hard listening" after hearing the seven-time F1 champion hit a new low in his time with Ferrari this season.

Following qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix at the weekend, Hamilton was brutally critical, describing himself as "useless" and even going so far as to suggest that Ferrari should find itself a new driver.

The 40-year-old had missed out on a place in Q2 by 0.015s to Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto. Worse still, team-mate Charles Leclerc went on to take pole position as a dramatic wind direction change played into his hands and worked against the dominant duo of McLaren team-mates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

To rub salt into Hamilton's wounds, around a Hungaroring circuit where he holds the F1 record for most wins at a single circuit with eight, he failed to make any progress, starting where he finished in 12th.

Since the introduction of the current regulatory era in 2022, it was only the fourth time in 82 races that Hamilton was classified out of the top 10.

For the three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick, working as a pundit for Sky Sports F1 over the weekend in Budapest, she described listening to Hamilton's comments as "horrible".

Assessing his situation, Chadwick added: "He's in a different position as well. He's gone to Ferrari to try and win his eighth world title with a third team. He's not gone there just to try and get a few good results.

"He's not a young driver that you know is just on his way up the ladder and hoping to progress his career.

"He wants that world title, and he knows that the car is not there to win a world title, and for whatever reason, he feels like he's not there at the moment either, so it's like a double whammy."

Believing the summer break to be "needed" for Hamilton, she said: "It's not that much of a break, to be honest, when you think about how much time they [the F1 drivers] get off.

"But hopefully he can bounce back, and we won't see him quite in this frame of mind [when F1 returns for the Dutch Grand Prix in late August]."