"He looks defeated": Fans empathise with Lewis Hamilton after his shock plea to Ferrari

F1 Grand Prix of Hungary - Practice - Source: Getty
Lewis Hamilton at the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Hungary race weekend - Source: Getty

Ferrari had a topsy-turvy qualifying session at the 2025 Hungarian GP, which saw Lewis Hamilton being knocked out in Q2, while Charles Leclerc claimed the pole position for the race on Saturday, August 2. The Briton was left dejected and claimed himself to be "useless," leading the fans online to empathize with the seven-time champion after a dismal qualifying outing.

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For the second weekend running, Hamilton faced consecutive failures in reaching Q3. He had joined Ferrari with the hopes of bringing back the championship glory to Maranello, and despite one-off performances in the Sprint races, he has been trailing Leclerc in most metrics.

Moreover, the two parallels could be viewed clearly at the qualifying for the Hungarian GP, where the Briton was knocked out in Q2 and qualified a sub-optimal 12th for the race. His teammate, on the other hand, claimed the pole position ahead of the all-mighty McLaren duo.

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Witnessing the calibre in the car and reflecting on how he was unable to even make it into the top-10 shootout, Hamilton told Sky Sports:

"It’s me every time... I’m useless, absolutely useless... The team has no problem. The second car is on pole, so they probably just need to change driver."
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His comments touched the fans online, who pointed out that the Briton seemingly looked like he had given up. In the comments, one fan claimed:

"He looks defeated."
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On the other hand, some fans jibed at Hamilton for his lows:

"The most overrated driver in F1," one fan wrote.
"Maybe try a new driver," another fan wrote.

However, the major chunk of fans aimed at motivating the Ferrari driver, much like how he tells his fans to never give up:

"Hang on there champ, nobody is losing faith in you, come on now. Don’t forget who you are," one netizen wrote.
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"Our world champion don’t loose hope, keep pushing," another netizen wrote.
"Lewis it’s an awesome person, don’t deserve this. And please people be respectful, we can be happy for Charles without disrespect Lewis," a third netizen shared.

Lewis Hamilton trails Charles Leclerc in the intra-team qualifying head-to-head with a massive 4:10 score, favoring the Monegasque.


Lewis Hamilton was heartbroken after his dismal qualifying performance

Lewis Hamilton ahead of the qualifying for the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Hungary - Source: Getty
Lewis Hamilton ahead of the qualifying for the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Hungary - Source: Getty

Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver around the Hungaroring circuit with eight wins amassed to his name. In his previous 18 outings, he had never qualified below seventh for the race (barring a mechanical problem in 2014) and aimed to continue this trend at one of his hunting grounds.

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But the 40-year-old had a torrid qualifying result and shared his disappointment in the post-qualifying interview with Lawrence Barretto, as he said:

"Just drove terribly. It is what it is."

Hamilton is slated to start 12th on the grid, alongside Oliver Bearman on the sixth row.

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Edited by Sumeet Kavthale
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