Ferrari boss confident ‘frustrated’ Lewis Hamilton will bounce back after Hungarian GP

BUDAPEST – Lewis Hamilton received support from his Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur on Aug 3, just hours after the Briton cut a dejected figure following a lacklustre drive to 12th place at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

While teammate Charles Leclerc proved unable to convert Ferrari’s first pole position of the season into victory due to unexplained mechanical problems during the race, seven-time champion Hamilton was battling to escape midfield and finished where he started.

As on Aug 2, when he was dumped out of Q2 and appeared miserable, claiming he was “completely useless” and the team should “bring in another driver”, Hamilton seemed deflated.

To most observers, it appeared as if the pressures of living up to the hype of his spectacular marquee move from Mercedes, where he won six titles, and adjusting to the culture, car and expectations at Ferrari were overwhelming him.

At 40, talk of imminent retirement circled around him.

But Vasseur was swift to defend Hamilton, who has always been prone to impulsive heart-on-sleeve reactions.

“I don’t need to motivate him,” said Vasseur. “Honestly, he’s frustrated, but not demotivated.

“He’s demanding, but I think it’s also why he’s (a) seven-time world champion. I can perfectly understand this situation.

“Sometimes, you are making comments on what the driver is saying (in) the car. But, if you put the microphone on some other sportsmen, in football and so on, I’m not sure that it would be much better.”

“Sometimes, just after the race or just after qualifying, you are very disappointed and the first reaction is harsh. I can understand the frustration, but we are all frustrated,” he added.

Vasseur added Hamilton’s weekend appeared worse than it really was because of the tight and competitive times that led him to miss out on reaching Q3.

“For sure, when you are a seven-time world champion, your teammate is on pole position and you are out in Q2, it’s a tough situation,” he said.

“But overall, we can also have a deep look that he was in front of Charles in Q1 and, with the first set, that he was one-tenth off in Q2. We were not far away from having the two cars out in Q2.

“I can understand the frustration from Lewis. That’s normal and he will come back. He was stuck in a DRS train, but when he was alone, the pace was good. I’m sure that he will be back and he will perform.”

Leclerc, who finished fourth, backed his teammate.

“At the end, we are one team and as much as I want to finish in front of Lewis, I want both of us to be successful and for Ferrari to be successful, and obviously this weekend has been a tough one for Lewis,” Leclerc said.

“But I have no doubt that it’s a one-off and I’m sure the second part of the season will be a lot more positive.”

Hamilton’s former Mercedes boss Toto Wolff also spoke out strongly in Hamilton’s defence, calling his comments just “Lewis wearing his heart on his sleeve”.

“It was very raw. It was out of himself and we had it in the past when he felt that he underperformed his own expectations,” added the Austrian.

Hamilton, sixth in the drivers’ standings, but without a podium for Ferrari in 2025, said he was looking forward to a much-needed “break from work” during Formula One’s August holiday before the Dutch Grand Prix on the final weekend.

Meanwhile, F1 is a healthier place after the firing of Christian Horner as Red Bull team boss, McLaren chief executive Zak Brown said on Aug 3.

Speaking to reporters after talks with Horner’s successor Laurent Mekies at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the American welcomed the Frenchman’s appointment and said his predecessor had crossed a line.

“I just left having a chat with Laurent. I’m happy he’s in the role he’s in,” he said. “I like Laurent and I think that’ll be healthy, and maybe we can get back to focusing on competition on the track.

“There’s always going to be some political aspects to the sport. I think it’s going to be healthier with Laurent.

“I’m a fan of Laurent. I’ve known him for a long time and I think it’ll be good to go racing against Laurent.”

Brown and Horner were not friends, to put it mildly, and clashed frequently – with the former accusing Red Bull of cheating in 2022 when the team were found to be in breach of the 2021 cost cap.

The pair raced in British Formula Three and renewed their rivalry as bosses, trading barbs in the media with Horner a “pantomime villain” for audiences of the Netflix series Drive To Survive.
REUTERS, AFP