Charles Leclerc responds as Lewis Hamilton tells Ferrari to ‘change driver’

Suffering a wretched weekend at the Hungaroring, Charles Leclerc is convinced it was a one-off for Lewis Hamilton and that the rest of the season will be more positive.

Hamilton raised eyebrows during the Hungarian Grand Prix as he voiced his disappointment over his performances in qualifying and the grand prix.

Charles Leclerc is 42 points clear of Lewis Hamilton in the standings

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

The seven-time World Champion was eliminated in Q2 while Leclerc pulled off a surprise pole position as he outqualified Oscar Piastri by 0.026s.

Calling himself “useless”, Hamilton told Sky F1 that Ferrari “probably need to change driver”.

His grand prix didn’t go any better as Hamilton lost two positions off the line and was then caught up in a DRS train that made overtaking extremely difficult.

He told the media, including PlanetF1.com, that he felt the “same” as he did after qualifying but that he would be back in the car at Zandvoort, “hopefully”.

“I look forward to coming back… Hopefully I will be back, yeah,” he said.

In the middle of a season in which Hamilton has struggled to adjust to the Ferrari, his despondent answers in Hungary weren’t the first time he’d given a downbeat interview.

Up until Hungary, though, he hasn’t hinted at any doubts about his place on the Formula 1 grid.

Hamilton’s comments were put to Leclerc when he spoke with the media, including PlanetF1.com, after his P4 finish on Sunday.

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The Monegasque driver made it clear that believes Hamilton will bounce back when Formula 1 returns from its annual summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix later this month.

“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 Ferrari to be successful,” he said.

“Obviously, this weekend has been a tough one for Lewis, but I have no doubt it is a one-off.

“I am sure the second part of the season will be a lot more positive.”

Hamilton’s comments have dominated headlines in the days since.

While Martin Brundle says he’s in a “difficult place” and Bernie Ecclestone believes he would be “cheating himself” if he didn’t retire, Toto Wolff is adamant his former Mercedes World Champion, who he called the GOAT, has “unfinished business” in Formula 1.

Hamilton’s current team principal, Fred Vasseur, put the Briton’s words done to nothing more than frustration over a disappointing weekend.

“I don’t need to motivate him, honestly. He’s frustrated, but not demotivated. It’s a completely different story,” Vasseur told media including PlanetF1.com.

“I can perfectly understand the situation. Sometimes you are making comments about what the driver saying about the car. Put the microphone on some other sportsman in football and so I’m not sure that it would be much better.

“You know that they are in the performance and sometimes they are making comments even when they jump out of the car.

“I can understand the frustration. We are all frustrated. And sometimes, if you ask me that me things, I want to say things but would go to the stewards.

“Sometimes just after the race, or just after the qualy, you are very disappointed, and the reaction, the first reaction, is off.

“But we all know that we are pushing in the same direction.”

Leclerc’s edged 42 points clear of Hamilton in the Drivers’ standings in Hungary with the team-mates fifth and sixth on the log.

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