Lewis Hamilton ‘talking nonsense’ as George Russell responds to extreme comments

Lewis Hamilton cut an extremely frustrated figure prior to the summer break at the Hungarian Grand Prix, his blunt self-criticism drawing attention.

However, when Hamilton speaks of being “useless”, and tells Ferrari that they should “change driver”, that is just “nonsense” coming out of the F1 legend’s mouth, says former teammate George Russell.

George Russell addresses down in the dumps Lewis Hamilton

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Hamilton’s blockbuster move to Ferrari has not gone to plan so far. The seven-time World Champion has seen teammate Charles Leclerc move 42 points clear in the Ferrari intra-team battle.

Leclerc has scored all five of Ferrari’s F1 2025 podiums, and its sole pole position, which came in Hungary.

Hamilton dropped out in Q2 at the Hungaroring – a venue where he has won a record eight times – which prompted an extreme response.

“It’s me, every time,” he told Sky F1.

“I’m useless, absolutely useless.

“The team has no problems. You’ve seen the [other] car is on pole.

“They probably need to change driver.”

One driver who is highly qualified to speak about what Hamilton has to offer is Russell. The pair were teammates at Mercedes from 2022-24.

Russell was quizzed on Hamilton’s downbeat comments when he spoke to media, including PlanetF1.com, ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.

“Of course, he’s talking nonsense when he says something like that,” Russell said of Hamilton, “because he’s the greatest driver of all time, I think.

“A situation like that, when you go from the racetrack and you’re in front of the media within 10 minutes, you have all of these emotions.

“When you have a bad day, that’s how you feel. When you have a good day, everything changes.

“He’s still an exceptional driver. We saw it. He obviously won the Sprint straight away at the start of the year in China. He’s clearly still got it.

“But Formula 1 is not an easy sport, and especially if the team is not performing at the highest level, that compounds the issue.

“And of course, you know, Charles is an amazing driver too.”

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc head-to-head in F1 2025

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

For Hamilton, the shot at redemption will come in F1 2026, with the chassis and power unit regulations to be overhauled.

Such sweeping changes spark opportunities for a major change in the pecking order. Plus, if Hamilton has struggled to master ground effect F1 machinery, as some suggest, the F1 2026 cars could offer a route out of those troubles.

“So I think right now, 14 races down, probably every driver, bar two, are looking forward to 2026, for a fresh opportunity to fight for a championship,” Russell continued.

“And for someone like Lewis, that’s what he sort of lives for.”

Read next: Lewis Hamilton missing key figure at Ferrari as Mercedes comparison made