‘Things in the background are not great': Lewis Hamilton fuels talk of Ferrari split
On Saturday, Hamilton watched his teammate Charles Leclerc take pole position as he slumped to 12th. On Sunday, he finished the Hungarian Grand Prix exactly where he started and said his mindset had not changed from the day before.
Hamilton joined Ferrari with the hopes of winning a record eighth world drivers' title. But the Italian team have trailed well behind pacesetters McLaren, and Hamilton is being comfortably beaten by his teammate. His comments on Sunday suggest all is not well at Maranello.
'When you have a feeling, you have a feeling. There's a lot going on in the background that is not great,' he told Sky Sports F1 after finishing the race a lap down from McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
His struggles at the Hungaroring follow a troubled weekend in Belgium, where he qualified 18th and 16th for the sprint race and grand prix respectively. In Budapest he watched his teammate take pole position while he was eliminated in Q2. Fourteen rounds into his first season at Ferrari, he trails Leclerc 109 points to 151. The Monegasque has taken five podiums but Hamilton none.
Hamilton's demeanour after the race was of a man who looked desperate to embrace time away from F1, with nearly a month off until racing resumes at Zandvoort. 'I'm glad it's over. I'm looking forward to going away,' Hamilton said.
When pressed on whether he would 'definitely' be back for the next race in the Netherlands, he said: 'I look forward to coming back … hopefully I will be back, yeah.'
The signs of an unhappy driver were there from early on in Hungary. At a press conference on Thursday, Hamilton was word-shy, as he sometimes is. That theme continued throughout the weekend, evidently worsened by the effects of two dreadful races in a row. It is possible that Hamilton has hit the lowest point of a staggeringly successful career.
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