Lewis Hamilton: Completely transformed a year on from his ‘useless’ weekend

What a difference a year can sometimes make! A year ago in Hungary, Lewis Hamilton had delivered his famous rant. The Ferrari driver, then still in his first season with the team, had finished only 12th in qualifying on his favourite circuit (where he’d claimed eight Grand Prix victories). Afterwards, in emotional interviews, he had described himself as “useless, absolutely useless” and suggested that Ferrari would be better off replacing the driver (i.e. himself). In the race, he also finished only twelfth. The frustration ran deep in a season in which virtually nothing seemed to go right for the seven-time world champion.

Twelve months on, the picture at the Hungaroring is a completely different one: ever since his victory in Barcelona (his first in Ferrari red), Hamilton has finally been able to smile again. The 2026 season is going worlds better than last year. Hamilton is second in the World Championship and is currently on a real upward trajectory. And you can tell by looking at him.

Hamilton managed to ‘dig himself out’

Ahead of this year’s Budapest race weekend, Hamilton said: “I’m definitely proud of myself for managing to dig myself out of the hole I’d been in.”

Hamilton talks about a documentary

And then he drops a remarkable hint: “One day, when I make my documentary, I’ll be able to talk about the whole weekend and what led up to it.” Oh really? It sounds as though something bigger is in the pipeline and as though there’s an even bigger story behind the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix that Hamilton isn’t ready to reveal just yet.

Ahead of the Hungarian weekend, Hamilton remarked: “I feel worlds away from where I was last year. I’m very grateful for how we’ve developed as a team. The pieces of the jigsaw are coming together to form a picture. This year we’ve got a great car, a great package. We can compete with that.” He finished third in the first free practice session, and in the second session early on Friday evening he was even the fastest – once again the undisputed king of the Hungaroring.

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