Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has defended Lewis Hamilton after his comments in Hungary. Image: XPB Images
Hamilton endured a miserable outing in Budapest, exiting qualifying in Q2 while teammate Charles Leclerc stormed to a surprise pole.
The Briton’s frustration boiled over in a series of raw post-session interviews, in which he labelled himself “absolutely useless” and bluntly remarked that Ferrari “probably need to change driver.”
Despite the harsh self-assessment, Vasseur was quick to defend his driver, insisting Hamilton’s disappointment stemmed from passion, not a lack of motivation.
“I don’t need to motivate him, honestly. He’s frustrated, but not demotivated. It’s a completely different story,” Vasseur said.
“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.
“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.”
Vasseur’s comments followed a weekend in which Hamilton’s frustrations extended beyond qualifying.
He finished Sunday’s race in 12th — marking only the second time in 19 visits to the Hungaroring that he has failed to score points — and clashed with Max Verstappen during a tense mid-race battle.
In another sign of his dejection, Hamilton’s post-race interviews continued in a similarly sombre tone. When asked if he would return after the summer break, the 40-year-old replied: “Hopefully I will be back, yeah.”
Hamilton continues self-criticism, Leclerc fumes over lost podium
That remark fuelled further speculation about Hamilton’s mental state and future at Ferrari, prompting Vasseur to again dismiss any concerns over the Briton’s commitment.
“Yes, he’s demanding, but I think it’s also why he is a seven-time world champion,” he said.
“That he is demanding with the team, with the car, with the engineers, with the mechanics, with myself also, but first of all, he is very demanding with himself.”
Hamilton’s downturn in Hungary continued a run of underwhelming performances in what has been a challenging debut season with the Scuderia.
While Leclerc has climbed the podium five times in 2025, Hamilton is yet to appear in the top three during a grand prix. His best results so far have been three fourth-place finishes. He currently sits sixth in the drivers’ championship, 42 points behind his teammate.
That contrast has led to renewed speculation over Hamilton’s future, with former F1 driver and Sky pundit Ralf Schumacher suggesting retirement could be looming sooner than expected.
“He’s not really getting to grips with the car,” Schumacher said.
“He doesn’t really know how to handle it. He obviously can’t completely change his driving style.
“That’s exactly what I said at the beginning of the year. If things continue like this, there will come a time when Ferrari will have to choose one driver and can’t build a car for both. And then things will get tight.
“Now he’s starting to doubt himself more and more.”
Schumacher reflected on his own experiences with declining performance late in his career, which ultimately led him to step away.
“Personally, I’ve had the same experience,” he added.
“That was in the DTM, where I said, ‘Okay, there’s no point in this anymore.’ I handed the car in a year early.
“I trust him to be able to do it and to do it. Because it’s such a bitter disappointment, and he doesn’t know what to do. Not immediately, of course, but something like that can always happen.”
However, others have backed Hamilton to find his form, including F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, who called the British driver a “jewel.”
‘He is an incredible athlete, so no matter if it is a difficult moment, he will react, and I’m pretty sure he will show the reason why he is here,” Domenicali told Sky Sports F1.
“He wants to achieve his eighth title, and he will triumph again. So, stay with Lewis and he will do a great race, and be very, very strong after the summer [break].”