George Russell has leapt to the defense of his former Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, insisting the Ferrari star was only being hard on himself when he branded himself as "useless" after his disappointing performance in qualifying in Hungary.
A Q2 elimination in Budapest, followed by a pointless race day, marked another low in a campaign where Hamilton has been consistently outshone by teammate Charles Leclerc.
Sitting sixth in the championship, 42 points behind his Scuderia teammate and without a Grand Prix podium, Hamilton’s emotions got the better of him. His claim that Ferrari should consider replacing him raised eyebrows, but Russell, who shared the Mercedes garage with the Briton from 2022 to 2024, isn’t buying the self-deprecation.
“Of course he's talking nonsense when he says something like that because he's the greatest driver of all time,” Russell told the media ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.
“I think in a situation like that, when you go from the race track and you're in front of the media within 10 minutes, you have all of these emotions. When you have a bad day, that's how you feel. When you have a good day, everything changes.”
Russell also pointed to Hamilton’s early-season sprint win in China as proof his former teammate is still operating at the highest level.
“He's still an exceptional driver. He obviously won the sprint straight away at the start of the year in China. He's clearly still got it. Formula 1 is not an easy sport, and especially if the team is not performing at the highest level, that compounds the issue.”
Hamilton’s struggles have been magnified by Leclerc’s strong form, with the Monegasque already securing five podiums to Hamilton’s none. Still, Russell stressed context is everything.
“And of course, Charles is an amazing driver too,” he added. “I think right now, 14 races down, probably every driver bar two [title rivals Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris] is looking forward to 2026 and for a fresh opportunity to fight for a championship.
“And for someone like Lewis, that's what he lives for. Not just get in at once.”
While Russell talked up Hamilton’s class, the seven-time world champion himself has been more candid about the pressures of his Ferrari debut. Hamilton admitted the season “has not been the most enjoyable.”
But looking ahead, he’s determined to rediscover his spark.
“I think for anyone in whatever career you're in, if you're not enjoying what you're doing, then why are you doing it,” Hamilton said.
“There can often be so much noise that you can lose sight of what's really, really important. So that's why I'm saying I just really want to focus on getting back to that enjoyment.
“I've joined the team that I've always dreamed of driving for and there's been so much noise around that it's kind of clouded us from getting to enjoy it.
“So now it's about kind of moving those things aside and just getting back to focusing on the pure love of what we do.”
Despite the turbulence, Russell’s verdict is clear: when it comes to Hamilton questioning his own worth, the 26-year-old isn’t having any of it. To him, talk of being “useless” is just raw emotion – not reality.
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