During the recent Hungarian Grand Prix, much attention was drawn to the apparent decline of Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion is already having a mediocre debut season with Ferrari, but after a disastrous qualifying round at the Hungaroring, he showed unprecedented pessimism. The Brit referred to himself as ‘useless’ and called on Ferrari to find a new driver. However, teammate Charles Leclerc assures that we will see the old Hamilton back soon.
The race weekend in Budapest was one Hamilton would rather forget. On a circuit where he has had much success in the past, the Brit failed to advance beyond Q2. Starting from the twelfth position, he was unable to make up any places during the race. The contrast with teammate Leclerc made this new setback even more painful – the Monegasque secured his first pole position of the year, although he fell back to fourth place on Sunday.
Leclerc wants to boost his teammate’s spirits and expects Hamilton to bounce back in the second half of the season. “In the end, we are one team, and as much as I want to finish ahead of Lewis, I want us both to be successful – and for Ferrari to be successful,” he responded after the race. “Of course, this weekend was tough for Lewis, but I have no doubt that this was a one-off. I am confident that the second part of the season will be much more positive.”
