Lewis Hamilton made headlines with his comments before the Hungary Grand Prix and his latest interview has intensified speculation over his future.
Hamilton endured a miserable qualifying session on Saturday, failing to make Q3 to start 12th on the grid.
The former Mercedes man sent the media into a frenzy with his post-qualifying comments where he claimed Ferrari should look to replace him.
Hamilton said: “I'm useless, absolutely useless. The team has no problem, you've seen the car on pole so they probably need to change driver.”
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Despite teammate Charles Leclerc starting on pole, it was another dismal day for the Italian team with Hamilton unable to improve on the 12th-placed start and Leclerc ending the race off the podium in fourth.
The Brit was investigated by the stewards following an incident with ex-rival Max Verstappen and Hamilton was asked to clarify his pre-race comments after another poor showing.
The 40-year-old’s response left even more questions than answers following his initial comments.
“When you have a feeling, you have a feeling. There is a lot going on in the background that’s not great.”
Asked whether he’s lost his love of racing, he said: “No, I still love the team.”
Hamilton’s comments have fuelled speculation over his future in the sport and with Ferrari.
He remains under contract until the end of the 2026 season but Ralf Schumacher believes the writing may already be on the wall.
He told Sky Sports Germany: “That will be on his mind now.
“When you reach a certain age and are no longer competitive and can no longer keep up with your teammate, you start to think things through.
“When that happened to me in the DTM, I retired.”
Hamilton’s only highlight during his spell with Ferrari was a sprint victory in China. It was the first time in his entire racing career that he finished outside of the points at the Hungary Grand Prix.
Fortunately, his race result will not get any worse after the stewards decided no further action was necessary following the incident with Verstappen.
The Red Bull driver claimed Hamilton ‘got scared’ heading into turn four on lap 30.
Verstappen said: “I'm actually pretty disappointed I have to go to the stewards after the race. Just analyse it in the race.
"I just set my nose next to him, he gets scared and goes off track.”
The Red Bull star noted Hamilton did not attend the steward’s enquiry to give his side of the story.
Topics: Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Formula 1, Hungarian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen, Motorsport
Marcus Banks