George Russell dismisses Lewis Hamilton’s “I am useless” comment as “nonsense”

Lewis Hamilton was “talking nonsense” when he branded himself “absolutely useless” during the Hungarian Grand Prix, according to his former Formula 1 teammate George Russell.

Seven-time F1 champion Hamilton generated worldwide headlines with his tirade following Budapest qualifying, as he slammed his own performances and suggested Ferrari should replace him with another driver.

The 40-year-old has been struggling since he left Mercedes for Ferrari this year, but Hungary marked a low point for him as he qualified in 12th place while his teammate Charles Leclerc took pole.

But as the F1 paddock returned from the summer break, Russell backed Hamilton to bounce back in the second half of the season, saying his remarks were made out of frustration in the heat of the moment.

“Of course, he's talking nonsense when he says something like that because he's the greatest driver of all time,” Russell told the media, including Crash.net.

“A situation like that when you go from the race track 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. 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, Charles is an amazing driver too.

It has been speculated that Hamilton’s ongoing struggles in F1 stem from the switch to ground-effect cars in 2022.

Even before his move to Ferrari this year, Hamilton’s performances had started to dip, and he was outscored by Russell in 2024.

Russell hopes that F1’s 2026 rules overhaul, which cuts reliance on the underside of cars for downforce, will give Hamilton a chance to reset and fight at the front again.

“Right now, 14 races down, probably every driver bar two [Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri] are looking forward to 2026, and for a fresh opportunity to fight for a championship,” he said.

“For someone like Lewis, that's what he sort of lives for. Not just getting the points.