Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports F1 analyst Martin Brundle claimed that Lewis Hamilton’s Hungarian Grand Prix comments were “difficult to watch” and that he wished the broadcast could have been changed to not show the downbeat comments.
The seven-time champion said to the media that he was “useless” and that Ferrari might want to consider a different driver after he suffered an early exit in qualifying.
After starting 12th on the grid, he finished the race in Budapest in the same position. When asked to clarify his comments from Saturday, he doubled down explaining that there were things happening in the background which were “not great”.
What made matters worse for the 40-year-old was when his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc claimed a surprise pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.
Hamilton joined Ferrari after a 12-year stint with Mercedes, which resulted in six of his seven drivers’ championships. But after high expectations for his debut with the Maranello outfit, the British driver has struggled to adapt to the new team.
Brundle claimed that Hamilton’s comments were “best unsaid”.
“He was down. I found it a difficult watch,” Brundle explained to Sky Sports F1. “I wish we could rewind and edit that out for him because that will play out for a very long time. It was best unsaid. But that was his feeling and he wears his heart on his sleeve. Charles being on pole in the other Ferrari? That is salt in his wounds.”
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
Jamie Chadwick, who joined Brundle on the Sky broadcast team for the race at the Hungaroring, added: “One of the issues is that they don’t have consistency. With that, it’s difficult for the driver to have confidence and know where they are, weekend in, weekend out.
“For Lewis, it’s difficult, because with a few bad races and suddenly you hear him talk, and he’s lost confidence. That’s not the Lewis who won championships, or what you hear from the McLaren drivers.
“He needs a good race, a few good results, to gain confidence back. But it doesn’t help when Ferrari don’t have that consistency in performance.”
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