Lewis Hamilton has experienced unmatched joy at the Hungarian Grand Prix – but last year it felt like the beginning of the end. At the Hungaroring, where he had won eight times before in Formula 1, he qualified just 12th while team-mate Charles Leclerc put the other Ferrari on pole. And what followed was one of the most difficult-to-watch interviews of Hamilton’s entire career.
“It’s me every time. I’m useless, absolutely useless,” he declared. He followed that up by saying Ferrari “probably need to change driver”, referencing Leclerc’s result in the other red car. Luckily, his Scuderia bosses did not listen.
One year on, it is like an entirely different man is sporting the number 44. This version of Hamilton has found his feet at Ferrari, having put a wretched debut campaign behind him. The seven-time world champion has already taken care of the long-awaited first podium and first victory, proving to everyone – including perhaps most importantly himself – that he still has what it takes, aged 41.
“I am definitely proud of myself for getting myself out of the place that I was in,” Hamilton said on his first return to the Hungaroring since that dark weekend 12 months ago. “One day when I do my documentary, I’ll tell you all about that weekend and what led up into it. But to come from there, coming into this week, I arrive worlds away from where I was last year.”
Ferrari are also in much better shape themselves, with a car that both their drivers have now proven they can steer to victory. Hamilton did it in Barcelona last month while Leclerc also ended a victory drought stretching back to 2024 with his first British Grand Prix triumph.
They were also second and fourth last time out on a Spa-Francorchamps circuit which, like Silverstone before it, featured long, power-demanding sections upon which the Ferrari cars and their weaker engines were expected to struggle. The tighter Hungaroring should suit them much more and so a ninth win here for Hamilton on Sunday is entirely plausible.
Both Ferrari drivers have talked down their chances, of course, but the progress made by both Hamilton and his team are undeniable. The Brit said: “We got to Silverstone, started out well and one step in the wrong direction and it took us away from competing for a win. The same thing last week, so that just shows how things can go in this sport.
“But I’m still grateful that we’ve had consistency, still scored points, but on pure pace the front runners weren’t that far away. Normally Kimi [Antonelli] is so fast he pulls away. But he wasn’t ballistic [in Belgium] and we were a lot closer than we thought. So to go to two circuits where we thought we would be quite far behind and to have Charles win and finish second shows that we are moving in the right direction.”