F1 legend Lewis Hamilton's bitter sweet Hungarian GP – that's life at Ferrari!

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Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton's bitter sweet Hungarian GP – that's life at Ferrari!

Lewis Hamilton had a disastrous weekend in Hungary

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 5 August 2025 09:12 Updated: 12:13

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Lewis Hamilton may have hit rock bottom at the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend, but it may not all be bad news for the seven-time F1 world champion.

Hamilton qualified down in 12th on Saturday, prompting an incredibly downbeat interview in which he told Sky Sports' Rachel Brookes that he was 'useless', and that Ferrari should consider sacking him.

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On Sunday, the Brit failed to improve on that qualifying performance, and did not score any points, falling further behind team-mate Charles Leclerc in the drivers' championship.

That led to yet another negative interview with Brookes, where Hamilton said that there was 'a lot going on in the background that isn't great', which may have been a hint that all is not well behind the scenes at Ferrari regarding Hamilton's future with the team.

Either way, presuming that Hamilton will stay at Ferrari until his contract ends at the end of the 2026 season, there is something that may well cheer Lewis up as he heads on his summer holidays.

And that's the fact that the SF-25 actually looked like a decent car across the weekend!

Is there reason to be positive for Ferrari's drivers?

Leclerc offers Hamilton glimpse of hope

Let's not make any mistake, Hamilton left Mercedes and joined Ferrari in the hope of adding to his record tally of 105 grands prix victories, and potentially challenging for a record-breaking eighth world championship title.

While both of those things look to be a long way off for a variety of different reasons in 2025, there are two things that need to come together for him to have a successful 2026 season when new regulations come into play.

Hamilton needs to get out of his current driving performance slump, and Ferrari need to build a better car. Easy, right?

Well, the rest of 2025 is likely going to be used to work on both of those things, rebuilding Hamilton's confidence as well as giving he and Leclerc some faith that they can challenge for race victories at their current team.

And the way in which the SF-25 performed at the Hungaroring can only bring positivity to Hamilton as he seeks to get out of this rut.

Leclerc was able to achieve pole position on Saturday in the same car that Hamilton was driving, and for much of the first half of Sunday's race the Monegasque driver was more than a match for the dominant McLaren of Oscar Piastri.

Then it all went wrong for Leclerc. A sudden drop off in pace meant that he finished over 42 seconds off eventual race winner Lando Norris.

On a positive note, Leclerc did still finish fourth, and it was revealed after the race that his car had suffered some kind of mechanical issue which may just explain the drop off in pace.

Overall, however, there was more than enough pace on show from Leclerc in his SF-25 to give Hamilton hope that if he can begin to reach the levels of driver performance that saw him win seven world titles earlier in his career, he may just be able to pick up a few podiums and race wins between now and the end of the season.

F1 HEADLINES: Max Verstappen takes aim at Lewis Hamilton as Ferrari disqualification fears emerge

F1 RESULTS: McLaren title rivals stage thriller as Hamilton hits rock bottom

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Charles Leclerc Hungarian Grand Prix Rachel Brookes