Lewis Hamilton slumps while Lando Norris thrives: Hungarian Grand Prix talking points

The National

3 days ago

The Hungaroring has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for F1 legend Lewis Hamilton. The British driver has tasted victory a record eight times in Hungary but his latest trip to the circuit will probably go down as one of his worst.
Hamilton became the story of the weekend when he described himself as 'absolutely useless' and called for his own team to replace him after a second session exit in qualifying.
Meanwhile, Lando Norris trumped his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to close the gap at the top of the drivers' championship. Here are the key stories from the last race before F1's short summer hiatus.
Downcast Hamilton needs a break
A dejected Hamilton said he will 'hopefully' return for Formula One's next race – after he cryptically claimed 'there is a lot going on in the background that is not great' following the Hungarian Grand Prix.
A day after his qualifying woes, Hamilton, the seven-time world champion started 12th and finished in the same position at the Hungaroring, a lap behind winner Norris. Charles Leclerc was fourth in the other Ferrari.
Fronting up to TV cameras after the conclusion of the 14th race of his Ferrari career which has so far failed to live up to its preseason hype, Hamilton was asked to reflect on his post-qualifying comments.
'When you have a feeling, you have a feeling,' he told Sky Sports. 'There is a lot going on in the background that is not great.'
Asked if he had fallen out of love with racing, Hamilton replied: 'No, I still love the team.'
Hamilton then headed for his session with the print media. Quizzed on how he felt a day on from being eliminated in Q2 – a performance made all the more harrowing after Leclerc took pole position, he replied: 'Same.'
Put to him that his remarks suggesting that Ferrari 'need a new driver' would worry his fans, the British driver again replied: 'Same.'
Asked if he had anything else to say other than 'the same', Hamilton said: 'I have got nothing else to say.'
The sport now breaks for three weeks for its midseason shutdown. The next race takes place in the Netherlands on August 31.
'Very much so,' said Hamilton, who was then asked if he was looking forward to the summer break. Quizzed as to whether he will definitely be driving at the next round in Zandvoort, Hamilton replied: 'I look forward to coming back … Hopefully I will be back, yeah.'
There were other worrying signs from the 40-year-old. Hamilton stood largely on his own for the drivers' parade, which takes place before every race, and was later accompanied by Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli.
By the end of the first lap, he dropped behind Carlos Sainz and Antonelli and was 14th. At the end of the eighth lap, he was 20 seconds behind Leclerc, then leading, in the other Ferrari, and at the end of lap 14 he trailed his teammate by half a minute.
When he left the pits on lap 43 for his sole change of tyres, Hamilton was a lap down on the leaders. He fought back past Alpine's Pierre Gasly and then Sainz to cross the line in 12th.
However, he is 42 points behind Leclerc, has been out-qualified by his teammate at 10 of the 14 rounds, beaten him in only two races, at Imola and Silverstone, and is still awaiting his first podium in Ferrari colours.
Hamilton's boss Fred Vasseur said: 'I don't need to motivate him. He is frustrated but not demotivated, that is a different story. I can perfectly understand the situation.'
McLaren close to perfection
McLaren boss Zak Brown hailed the team's 200th Formula One win, with Norris ahead of championship leader Piastri in a one-two finish, as close to perfect.
The win was Norris's fifth of the season and McLaren's seventh one-two in 14 races as well as the team's fourth in a row.
'You're never perfect in a race but I think that was as close to perfect as you can get,' Brown told Sky Sports. 'The drivers were awesome, pit stops amazing, strategy was great to get Lando up there, Oscar drove brilliantly. I couldn't be prouder of this racing team.'
Norris and Piastri crossed the finish line 0.698 of a second apart, with the pair almost touching when the Australian tried to make a move on his British teammate on the penultimate lap and locked up.
Team principal Andrea Stella said it had been 'firm' racing but also fair between rivals now separated by just nine points.
'We had a bit of a lock-up with Oscar but at the same time Lando left some space because he knew that Oscar would have been at the limit of braking,' said the Italian.
Despite celebrating his ninth career win, Norris said he needed to improve because he was making life too hard for himself.
He won from third on the grid, after dropping to fifth at the start and then making a one-stop strategy work with Piastri on two.
'It's going to be a good and tough battle probably until the end. It takes a lot out of you trying to focus so much for every single session, race, everything. So, it's going be a long second half of the season, I'm sure,' he said.
McLaren are only the second team to chalk up 200 Grand Prix wins since the world championship started in 1950. Ferrari, yet to win this season, are on 248. Mercedes, next after McLaren, have 130.
Russell's timely podium
The future of Mercedes driver George Russell appears to finally be heading towards some clarity.
With the team's interest in Max Verstappen having fizzled out, boss Toto Wolf said this week that he is hoping to combine Russell and Antonelli again next season.
Russell is quietly having his best start to a season yet with his third place in Hungary the latest in a string of podiums.
The Englishman is yet to sign a contract extension, but team boss Toto Wolf said: 'Definitely, he's staying. The team is strong. He has shown it today again.'