Lewis Hamilton refuses to make the same excuse as Charles Leclerc after Ferrari’s Hungary setback

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Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had wildly different responses to Ferrari’s struggles at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Neither Hamilton nor Leclerc had a particularly memorable race at the Hungaroring, as both drivers were held back by their own mistakes and Ferrari’s strategic faux pas.

Given how Ferrari misled Hamilton over his five-second penalty, the Briton has every right to be frustrated with his race engineers.

On the other side, despite Leclerc setting the pace in FP1 on Friday, the Monegasque driver did not have a good outing at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

However, what has become interesting is how both drivers responded to this frustration, as Lewis Hamilton showed Ferrari why they should back him over Charles Leclerc.

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Lewis Hamilton accepted his mistakes at Hungarian GP, while Charles Leclerc continues to question Ferrari

Speaking to F1 TV after the Hungarian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton made his feelings on the race, and Ferrari’s first half of the season very clear.

“Obviously frustrated, disappointed… to come away with so little, given the car was good. The team did a great job. Ultimately, these last few races have been costly with mistakes from myself, so…

“It’s been okay. It’s not been perfect from my side. So, I really have to work hard to try to figure out how I can do better in the second half.”

Speaking further to Sky Sports, Hamilton further praised the Ferrari crew for their work. And while he did question the decision to pit later in the race, he admitted that he didn’t have the time to object.

“I definitely am [hopeful]. I’m massively grateful to the team cause they’ve really done a great job in this first half. I think the last three races, from me, have not been great, lots of mistakes. Mistake in Silverstone that cost dearly and obviously in the last race as well, and then this weekend.

“A lot of penalties in the last three races, so I’ve got to work hard to not give them the opportunity to give me any more penalties moving forward.

“I definitely don’t think we should have taken the stop, but the call came literally just before the pit lane entry line. I didn’t have time to debate.

“You have to trust the decision that’s been taken, but in hindsight, my tyres were totally fine. I was probably gonna lose out to Max, but I think I could’ve kept third, at least. And then just opened up the door to the penalty that I got in the end.”

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton reveals the embarrassing reason Max Verstappen overtook him at Hungarian Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc continues to blame Ferrari struggles on SF-26 inconsistencies

While Hamilton seemed to hold himself accountable, Charles Leclerc, when speaking to Canal+, suggested that he struggled today and at different points in the season due to the inconsistent performance of his car.

“It’s clear that what’s really strange is that this is completely the opposite of what we expected based on the last three races. The two races where we thought we’d really struggle, we finished first and second. In the race where we expected to be quite competitive, we finished fourth and fifth.

“But that pretty much sums up these cars in general. I think it’s difficult for everyone to understand. We just have to be better than the others at figuring it out.

“I’ll keep working to understand what’s causing this inconsistency with the car. Why the same sets of tyres, doing more or less the same thing, can feel completely different from one stint to the next is really very strange.”

The comments from both drivers only lend further credibility to the theory that Hamilton is far more comfortable than Leclerc at Ferrari right now.

But for Leclerc not to acknowledge his mistakes during the race or throughout the season is quite strange, especially considering that he has not had a flawless performance this year.

Perhaps Ferrari will take into consideration the way both Leclerc and Hamilton are approaching this season, and back the veteran driver who has been far more collaborative and quick to adapt.