F1 legend Lewis Hamilton lambasted over Ferrari pity party

Lewis Hamilton in Imola — Photo: © IMAGO

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Lewis Hamilton lambasted over Ferrari pity party

Lewis Hamilton's recent attitude to life at Ferrari has not won over this ex-F1 boss

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 13 August 2025 21:13

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Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has been criticised for his recent attitude to life at Ferrari.

The 40-year-old faced his toughest battle yet at the Hungarian Grand Prix last time out, which was further compounded by the fact that team-mate Charles Leclerc managed to drag his Ferrari to pole position.

Such an achievement, the first of the season for Leclerc, should have been eagerly welcomed at the Scuderia, but the fact that Hamilton could only qualify P12 at the wheel of his SF-25 demonstrated the drastic contrast between the two drivers experiences so far this year.

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Though the Monegasque star has not been without issues in 2025, Leclerc has consistently appeared on the podium with Ferrari, whilst Hamilton has failed to finish in the top three of any grands prix in his first season in red.

Speaking to the media in Budapest, the 40-year-old appeared the most dejected we have ever seen him since making the switch from Mercedes, even calling for his new team to replace him with another driver.

Following his despondent interview, ex-Haas boss Guenther Steiner has questioned the new attitude of the seven-time champion who labelled himself as 'absolutely useless' prior to the summer break.

Speaking on a recent episode of the Red Flags podcast, Steiner said: "I mean, how can you come out as being seven time world champion saying I'm useless?"

"It's not his performance, I do not care about that you know I'm not going into his performance, he's struggling, at some stage in our life we all struggle a little bit... but coming out and saying, 'oh I'm useless', I I think that's the wrong attitude and that is for me I don't like attitude of giving up, or it's an attitude that people should feel sorry for you."

Guenther Steiner is not buying Lewis Hamilton's new attitude at Ferrari

Steiner: Hamilton must 'work harder' at Ferrari

Having spent just under a decade as the team principal of Haas F1, Steiner certainly knows the challenges that come with a move to a new team, especially one that is in the midst of a rough patch.

In an assessment of Hamilton's current demeanor after a lacklustre start to his maiden season in red, Steiner continued: "For me, it's like if I'm seven times world champion, I've got enough confidence that I know that I'm not useless. I just need to work harder and going back to get my mojo back. You know, it's one of these things but coming out saying I'm useless for me it was a little bit, dude I mean a few weeks ago you were sitting down with engineers telling them what to do and now you're coming back and saying I'm useless.

The former F1 boss then went on to administer some final advice to the British legend, adding: "Just focus [on] what you are good at which is driving a race car because he's good you know he's a seven times world champion."

Steiner's podcast co-hosts then suggested that perhaps Hamilton was merely administering the harsh tactic of self-deprecation before any of the critics could beat him to it, but the outspoken Drive to Survive star was not a fan of this theory either.

"That’s the wrong attitude, that’s feeling sorry for yourself," Steiner concluded,

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes Charles Leclerc Hungarian Grand Prix