What brutal international media are saying about Lewis Hamilton after Hungary flop

“Mute and listless.” “Sloppy and demoralised.” “Who made me come to Maranello?” “There is virtually no self-confidence left.”

Lewis Hamilton was blasted by the international media, with the Italian press hitting him hard after a woeful Hungarian Grand Prix ended in a point-less P12 and the Briton even questioning his future on the F1 grid.

The Italian press: Mute and listless Lewis Hamilton

Catering to Ferrari’s Tifosi, the Italian media didn’t hold back after Hamilton’s disappointing race with Corriere dello Sport the most brutal as it called the Briton “mute and listless” with his “gaze fixed on the ground.

“A phenomenon of communication that now struggles to speak, alternating disarming statements with circumstantial phrases. Lewis looks like a schoolboy who has reluctantly popped out of the back of the blackboard. With an extreme need to leave for any destination without curves, kerbs, people dressed in red.”

The publication awarded him a 4.5 in its post-Hungarian scores, saying: “The inexplicable crisis of the most successful ever together with Michael Schumacher continues: the summer break will be useful for some fruitful sessions with a mental coach who is able to chase away the fears of these days (Ferrari maybe needs another driver) and perhaps help him give a convincing answer to a question that sooner or later he will have to ask himself: “Who made me come to Maranello?””

Gazzetta dello Sport was slightly kinder to the 40-year-old as it awarded him a five.

“He started twelfth, he finished in the same position,” read the Italian publication’s report card. “He had never seen himself so sloppy and demoralised. Net of the SF-25’s troubles, it has to shake up. Ferrari needs the real Lewis.”

La Repubblica only gave him a four, calling it a “flat race” in which he “sadly failed” to score any points., adding: “The fans don’t know what to think anymore.”

The German press: Lewis Hamilton is at odds with himself

The German media also weren’t kind to the Briton.

Bild declared “the horse is lame – because the driver is at odds with himself”, adding: “Hamilton’s frustration will definitely run deep. His childhood dream of becoming a driver and world champion by and with Ferrari is increasingly turning into a nightmare. Teammate Leclerc has him completely under control and is the stronger driver.”

But it was the Briton’s words after qualifying and the grand prix when he said Ferrari should probably change drivers that caught Auto Motor und Sport‘s attention.

“Bizarre: Hamilton is basically announcing his own departure. When a Formula 1 driver is this down, it speaks volumes. There is virtually no self-confidence left.”

The British press: A display that hardly bandaged his wounded psyche

Even Hamilton’s home country didn’t hold back as the Daily Mail labelled his performance “dismal”, adding that it was “a display that hardly bandaged his wounded psyche”.

The tabloid went on to say that “clearly, Hamilton needs a rest, his confidence shot after all the hoopla of his move to Ferrari went flat. He had hoped to revivify his career aged 40 in the famous red car, yet he is 42 points behind Leclerc after 14 podium-less races in which he has only twice finished ahead of the Monegasque.”

Under the headline “Lewis Hamilton fuels Ferrari split talk”, the Telegraph went as far as to suggest that Hungary was the “lowest point of a staggeringly successful career” for Hamilton.

It said: “The signs of an unhappy driver were there from early on this week. In Thursday’s press conference with the written media, Hamilton was word-shy, as he sometimes is. That theme continued throughout the weekend, evidently worsened by the effects of two dreadful races in a row.”

The BBC also questioned the Briton’s future: “As is often the case when Hamilton struggles, not only does his mood plumb the depths, but the F1 rumour mill spins into overdrive. Was Hamilton over the hill, some wondered after qualifying? Would he even quit Ferrari at the end of the year, or perhaps even before the end of the season?”

After Hamilton called himself “useless” and then told the media that “hopefully” he’d be back at the Dutch Grand Prix, The Sun reported that people are “concerned for Lewis Hamilton after his dejected message to his Ferrari colleagues” after his “nightmare Hungarian Grand Prix”.

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