Danica Patrick fears Lewis Hamilton is ‘defeated’ after hearing United States Grand Prix comments

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Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were only eighth and 10th for Ferrari in Sprint qualifying for the United States Grand Prix on Friday. And Danica Patrick was concerned by their interviews after the session.

Hamilton was bemused by Ferrari’s ‘sudden’ loss of pace on the radio after looking quick in FP1 and the first segment of qualifying. The seven-time world champion was nearly a second adrift of polesitter Max Verstappen and also behind midfield cars like Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz.

David Croft says Hamilton and Ferrari have been the ‘biggest disappointment’ of 2025 given the pre-season hype. While he’s shown some signs of progress since the summer break, he’s only scored 14 points in that period.

Danica Patrick says Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc want the season to end

Hamilton’s interview after Sprint qualifying was brief. He couldn’t offer any explanation for Ferrari’s drop-off, and warned that they have ‘a mountain to climb’ for the remainder of the weekend, even if they have the opportunity to change their set-up after Saturday’s race.

“It’s definitely not the pace we were expecting,” he said. “I really don’t [know where the pace went].

“It was looking really good in practice, and Q1 was looking pretty decent also, then it just started to fall away from us. The car is very, very tough to drive. Eighth and 10th is just… a mountain to climb.”

Reacting on Sky Sports, pundit Danica Patrick said that both Ferrari drivers sounded ‘defeated’ after the session, as if they were increasingly desperate for the year to end.

She says Ferrari will have to take a ‘completely new’ approach if they want to succeed next year. Hamilton is responsible for their only victory of any description in 2025, having won the Shanghai Sprint.

“They both seem defeated,” Patrick remarked. “You can tell that in both of their interviews. It’s total frustration and almost like, ‘Ugh, let’s just get this year over with.'”

“Lewis especially, when you have a change like he had to go from Mercedes to a team where you think you’re going to go better, a lot of times that change can spark something. It’s just been such a disappointment.

“I’m sure that they’re going to really welcome the off-season this year. They’re going to have to go back to the drawing board and try something completely new.”

Jenson Button pinpoints the ‘biggest issue’ for Ferrari

Patrick’s Sky colleague Jenson Button said that Hamilton and Leclerc are still ‘shocked’ by Ferrari’s lack of pace, even though it isn’t necessarily anything new.

Hamilton has repeatedly looked fast in practice before falling away later in the weekend. Ferrari haven’t offered a definitive explanation for this trend.

“I think the biggest issue is that they’re just shocked by it,” said Button. “You can see both drivers. It’s not like they knew this was coming. In practice they were quick, and it’s fallen away from them.

“It’s trying to understand why the pace isn’t there. They don’t know why they’ve lost that pace, and that’s the most frustrating thing.”

Progress from Red Bull and Mercedes is threatening to leave Ferrari fourth in the constructors’ come the end of the season, which would be one of their worst showings of the 21st century.