Martin Brundle tells Lewis Hamilton “it was best unsaid” as worry grows

Martin Brundle insists Lewis Hamilton’s now-infamous remark at last weekend’s F1 Hungarian Grand Prix was regrettable.

Hamilton called himself ‘useless’ and told Ferrari to replace him after another poor qualifying in Hungary, with teammate Charles Leclerc on pole.

After finishing 12th in the grand prix, a miserable Hamilton doubled down with his negative self-assessment.

“He was down. I found it a difficult watch,” Sky Sports’ Brundle said about Hamilton’s original interview.

“I wish we could rewind and edit that out for him because that will play out for a very long time. It was best unsaid.

“But that was his feeling and he wears his heart on his sleeve.

“Charles being on pole in the other Ferrari? That is salt in his wounds.”

Jamie Chadwick added: “One of the issues is that they don’t have consistency. With that, it’s difficult for the driver to have confidence and know where they are, weekend-in and weekend-out.

“For Lewis, it’s difficult, because with a few bad races and suddenly you hear him talk, and he’s lost confidence.

“That’s not the Lewis who won championships, or what you hear from the McLaren drivers.

“He needs a good race, a few good results, to gain confidence back.

“But it doesn’t help when Ferrari don’t have that consistency in performance.”

Lewis Hamilton’s drive in the grand prix - where his eight career wins are an all-time record - did nothing to improve his mood.

He skipped a visit to the stewards room where Max Verstappen was being investigated for an incident which involved the Ferrari driver.

“Hopefully I’ll be back” was another strange remark made to media.

Lewis Hamilton needs 'a re-set'

“There was a lot of hype around, excitement around, a dream team to reignite his love of the sport,” Bernie Collins assessed.

“The eighth world championship was talked about a lot.

“There was also talk about how difficult it’d be to integrate into the team, they are very different culturally, it’s a very different car, different engine. We are seeing some of that play out.

“But we saw Leclerc on pole so he’s frustrated.

“It does need a re-set. I know if [by the end of the year] it can be turned around. They need to set themselves up for next year.”

Chadwick added: “It’s horrible, it’s hard listening.

“He has gone to Ferrari to win his eighth title, not to just get a few results. He’s not a young driver trying to progress his career.

“He knows the car isn’t there, and he’s not there. It’s a double whammy!

“Hopefully he can bounce back and we won’t see him in this frame of mind.”

Hamilton is a week into the three-week summer break before the F1 Dutch Grand Prix.

His problems this year, since swapping Mercedes for Ferrari, include his in-race relationship with engineer Riccardo Adami, and handling the tricky SF-25.