Lewis Hamilton says ‘lot going on in the background’ but ‘still loves racing’

Lewis Hamilton doubled down on his self-criticism of Saturday by saying there was “a lot going on in the background that’s not great” after a disappointing Hungarian GP.

Hamilton made headlines on Saturday after telling Ferrari to “find a new driver” and having finished 12th, he was no more optimistic.

Lewis Hamilton doubles down on self-criticism

Hamilton yet again struggled in the Ferrari, qualifying and finishing 12th on what has historically been a good track for him and pressed on his post-qualifying comments, the 40-year-old hinted at other factors.

“When you have a feeling, you have a feeling,” he told Sky Sports. “There’s a lot going on in the background that’s not great.”

He was then asked he had lost his love of racing to which he replied: “I still love racing.”

Such was the magnitude of Hamilton’s comments that even F1 president Stefano Domenicali gave his verdict, suggesting the former Mercedes driver would be “very strong” after the summer break.

“First of all Lewis is a jewel, he is an incredible athlete, so no matter if it is a difficult moment, he will react and I am pretty sure he will show the reason why he is here.

“He wants to achieve his eighth title, and he will triumph again. So stay with Lewis and he will do a great race, and be very very strong after the summer season.”

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur meanwhile said that Hamilton was “demanding” and that is how he has achieved seven world titles.

“He’s demanding, but I think it’s also why he is world champion,” Vasseur said.

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“He’s demanding with the team, with the car, with the engineers, with the mechanics, with myself also but first of all, he’s very demanding with himself.

“It was, I think, always a good motivation for him, and the main reason of performance. And for sure, when you are seven times World Champion, your team-mate is in top position and you are out in Q2, it’s tough.  It’s a tough situation.

“I can understand the frustration from Lewis that this is normal and he’ll come back. We have discussed a lot that the race today was difficult because we took some betting to start with hards.”

While Leclerc started on pole and led the early stages, the Monegasque driver’s pace faded later in the race. That prompted a frustrated outburst over the radio before a more circumspect Leclerc faced the media, revealing a problem with his chassis was the root cause.

It saw him finish just fourth, adding 12 points to the team’s Constructors’ Championship tally on a weekend that saw Mercedes add 16, and McLaren 43.

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