In a season that should have been so promising, Lewis Hamilton seems desperate after yet another disappointing afternoon with Ferrari. Max Verstappen did not despair; the reigning world champion was mainly realistic after a bad day with Red Bull - however painful his conclusion after an afternoon of qualifying at the Hungaroring may have been.
Two of the best F1 drivers the world has ever seen had a sports-wise very poor day at the circuit near Budapest. But what a huge difference it was overall. While one Formula 1 legend accepted that an unusual eighth place was the maximum during the Hungarian Grand Prix qualification, his (former?) rival seemed desperate with a twelfth place.
Verstappen remains calm and realistic
Max Verstappen - the driver who was stuck in eighth place with his Red Bull - had no grip, couldn't attack the corners, and couldn't really step on the gas anywhere. “Nothing actually works,” he said coolly to the Dutch press, including GPblog. “I can get angry, but that doesn't make the car go any faster.”
In the past, if things didn't go well, Max Verstappen would have been steaming anger. Those times are long gone. Anyone talking to him at a moment like in Hungary hears a grown man; someone who doesn't present things better than they are, but certainly doesn't burn everyone and everything around him - not least himself.
Hamilton did not spare himself
Lewis Hamilton reacted quite differently after failing to qualify for Q3. The seven-time world champion looked anything but upbeat.
In the so-called "square" with the writing media, his answers were short and barely audible, after he never got the most out of his Ferrari in qualification. “Just not so good,” the Brit muttered, then indicating that his bad day had 'nothing to do with the car'.
The longest sentence Hamilton uttered was the compliment to Ferrari after Charles Leclerc's pole: "It’s amazing results for the team. Clearly the car is capable of being on pole. Big congrats to Charles and to the team,'' then saying that he ‘did not enjoy’ the weekend at all.
Does Hamilton even want to still race in F1?
It was the last thing the international media heard from Hamilton before he left the mixed zone. Before that, he had been very critical of himself on the television channels, even suggesting Ferrari could hire another driver. One might almost think that Hamilton is about to give up, he seems to be mentally in a dip.
Charles Leclerc took the pole, two McLarens failed to convert their superiority. But ultimately, the story of the day was that of the two best drivers in the world; both at a bad time in their career, but clearly different in how to deal with it.
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