Lewis Hamilton onboard footage shows where he was really ‘struggling’ during the Hungarian Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton suffered a disaster at the Hungarian Grand Prix, qualifying and finishing down in 12th.

Hamilton has now matched Alain Prost’s record for the lowest finish at the Hungaroring for a four-time champion. What will hurt even more for the Brit is that teammate Charles Leclerc secured a shock pole position for Ferrari, while he failed to reach Q3 for a second race in a row.

It was a horrible weekend for the 40-year-old as he could not find any performance out of the SF-25. Hamilton apologised to Ferrari over the radio, stating that he was costing the team points; they are now 299 points behind McLaren heading into the summer break.

Hamilton was completely despondent throughout the weekend, even saying that Ferrari should drop him for another driver after qualifying. He doubled down on his comments after the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he failed to make up ground and finished outside the points.

The summer break will be critical for Ferrari and Hamilton to fix their problems. The seven-time champion is having a hard time adapting to his new surroundings and finding the right balance with the car.

Lewis Hamilton onboard footage shows he was really ‘struggling’ during qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix

Ferrari have been struggling to find the right operating window for the SF-25 all season. They looked like they had found something in Shanghai, only for Hamilton and Leclerc to be disqualified – the former for excessive plank wear and the latter for being underweight.

Since then, the team have had difficulties running the car at its best, with fundamental ride height issues costing them. Ferrari’s new rear suspension is hoped to help them run the car lower, but Leclerc has adapted quicker than Hamilton to the update.

Hamilton has developed a ‘habit’ with trail braking, which Sam Bird says Ferrari may not be able to fix. Even with the team’s upgrades, which the 40-year-old was desperate to see, he has not been at one with the SF-25, evidenced by his onboards in Hungary.

Speaking via F1 Nation, Tom Kristensen noticed that Hamilton was ‘fighting’ the car during qualifying, which ultimately cost him a place in Q3 by just 15 thousandths of a second.

“Actually, in qualifying, onboard with Lewis, he was struggling in the last three corners in particular. He was really fighting the car,” he said.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

Why was Lewis Hamilton so dejected after the Hungarian Grand Prix?

Hamilton’s comments throughout the weekend in Hungary were certainly not what anyone would have expected at the start of the season. His move to Ferrari was supposed to be the fresh start he needed, but instead, it has been the polar opposite.

Hamilton was seen ‘motionless’ in his car for over a minute in parc ferme after the Hungarian GP. This will be hugely concerning for Ferrari, who need a desperate reset over the summer break to fix their problems.

Hamilton feels ‘useless’ developing Ferrari’s car, rather than his driving ability, which is what caused his astonishing comments that he should be replaced. Peter Windsor says Hamilton needs to be ‘hyper-focused’ on being a racing driver in the second half of the season.

Jacques Villeneuve thinks Hamilton is ‘realising the differences at Ferrari since his move from Mercedes. It sounds like it is going to take significant work behind the scenes to fix his catastrophic woes in 2025.