'Hard-working' Hamilton gets high praise after 'I'm useless' verdict

10:59, 09 Aug

Updated: 11:19, 09 Aug

byKada Sarkozi

Lewis Hamilton had a difficult weekend at the Hungaroring. Especially after qualifying the British driver was downbeat. According to Juan Pablo Montoya, a retirement is not on the cards.

Despite a difficult weekend in Hungary, former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya backs Lewis Hamilton. "Supposedly, during the race, the engineer's approach to Lewis changed a lot, and he started giving him information, and Lewis's pace improved a lot during the race. Every time Lewis starts to become more competitive, the Ferrari goes faster," he began on the MontoyAS podcast.

Similarly to what Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur said, Hamilton was closer to Charles Leclerc in terms of lap times, but found himself eliminated early on in Q2, just missing out on a place in the Top 10.

"The times were very close. Half a tenth faster is a different story. If you look at Lewis three or four months ago, he was half a second behind. He was a tenth behind Charles; everyone was there. And if you look at the car of Lewis, he's not comfortable; he's fighting with the car all the time," he continued.

The Colombian also sees Hamilton's effort. "What's happening is that Lewis is at a point where he wants to get the better of the car, and he's putting in a huge effort, and you can tell he's working really hard, but you can tell he's not comfortable in the car, and the engineers haven't understood. They're starting to understand and realise, but they haven't really grasped how difficult that car is."

As a result, the Colombian expects that once Hamilton gets comfortable with the SF-25, that could cause more issues for Leclerc, as he could be ahead the Briton being more used to the car itself. "So I think the more Lewis adjusts the car and the more Lewis handles it, the more complicated Charles's life will become. So far, it hasn't been too complicated, but we'll see."

Juan Pablo Montoya

Montoya doesn't expect Hamilton to retire

Entering 2026, a regulation change will take place in Formula 1. According to the former Williams driver, Hamilton will not just retire at the end of this season, unlike some have previously suggested.

"This year, no. He gives it a few more years at least. Because the rules are so different from next year, and the regulations is so different, everything is so different, that the car could act very differently next year, and it could be something he likes and something that comes out on his side."

However, he doesn't expect Hamilton's struggles to end until one thing is fixed.

"The only way to solve this problem is if the car in the simulator behaves similarly, there is where they really have to put in work and look at things in the car that they have to work on," he shared his verdict.

Entering the summer break, Hamilton is yet to step on the podium, and is in sixth place in the standings with 109 points. The British driver however did win the Scuderia's first ever Sprint in China.