Günther Steiner lashes out at Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton’s self-admitted comments following a series of weak qualifying results have drawn criticism from former Haas team boss Günther Steiner. 

Hamilton, who is yet to stand on the podium in his first season for Ferrari, missed Q3 at three consecutive qualifying sessions before Formula 1’s summer break.

At both the Hungarian and Belgian Grands Prix he was knocked out early, including after a spin in sprint qualifying and a lap deleted for exceeding track limits. 

In Hungary he finished 12th in qualifying, while team-mate Charles Leclerc took pole position.

Hamilton then said: 

– I’m useless, absolutely useless. The team doesn’t have a problem, you can see the car is on pole. They probably need to change driver.

“Wrong mindset” according to Steiner

Speaking on the Red Flags podcast, Steiner said he could not understand such comments from a seven-time world champion. 

– How can you say you are useless? I’m not talking about his performance; anyone can struggle. But to come out and say, ‘I’m useless’, that’s the wrong mindset, said Steiner.

He pointed out that such comments can come across as seeking sympathy, and urged Hamilton instead to focus on his strengths. 

– If I’m a seven-time world champion, then I know I’m not useless. I just have to work harder and find my level again, he said.

Steiner also noted that only a few weeks earlier Hamilton had been deeply involved in technical decisions with the engineers. The Italian felt Hamilton should focus on driving and not on everything around it. 

Will come back strong

Hamilton himself quickly moved on from the disappointment and declared after the summer break that he would use the time to rediscover his form. 

– I will use the break to reset, recharge and come back stronger. I’m not where I want to be yet, but the fight isn’t over – don’t write me off, he said.

Hamilton currently sits sixth in the drivers’ championship, 42 points behind his team-mate Charles Leclerc in fifth.