"I don't see any fire in him": F1 pundit's humbling verdict on Lewis Hamilton's form at Ferrari

F1 pundit Mark Hughes has claimed that he doesn't see "any fire" in Lewis Hamilton amid an underwhelming first season with Ferrari. The journalist also compared the 7x world champion to a hibernating animal, waiting for things to get better around him.

Lewis Hamilton suffered yet another disastrous outing during the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday, which ended with his retirement from the race. The 40-year-old was involved in multiple incidents right at the start of the race, which even caused damage to the front wing and floor of his SF-25.

He also received a 5-second penalty for a collision with Franco Colapinto before the Ferrari team eventually asked him to park the car. Hamilton described his race in Brazil as a "nightmare."

Speaking on The Race F1 Podcast on Monday, journalist and pundit Mark Hughes claimed that Hamilton seems to be "despondent" at the moment. He also explained that the Briton seems to be waiting for things to get better at Ferrari.

"He said he still has a belief, he thinks it's his destiny, I think he used the word destiny, that he's gonna do something extraordinary with this chapter in his career. And you can imagine how he sees that and how glorious it will be in his mind if he comes out of this when everybody's written him off to come back and win again," said Hughes (30:00 onwards). "But it looks like he's just enduring at the moment, almost like a hibernating animal. He's just waiting for the situation to get better but I don't see any fire in him at the moment," he added.

Lewis Hamilton now sits sixth in the drivers' standings with 148 points. Kimi Antonelli caught up to him by a sizeable margin in Brazil, with the rookie now just 26 points behind the man he replaced at Mercedes, thanks to his career-best P2 finish on Sunday.

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Lewis Hamilton reflects on his "weekend to forget" at the Brazilian GP

Lewis Hamilton waves the Brazilian flag during the drivers' parade - Brazilian GP - Source: Getty

Lewis Hamilton has claimed that the Brazilian GP weekend was one to forget for him and the Ferrari team. The veteran also said he felt sorry for everyone on the Italian squad amid their double DNF at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.

Speaking to the media after the race on Sunday, Hamilton shared his honest thoughts about a tough weekend in Sao Paulo.

"This is definitely a weekend to forget. It’s a shame because I love Brazil and everyone in the team. Every single person in this team turns up every week and gives it their absolute best," said Hamilton [via Formula1.com]. "To come away with nothing, to not finish a race for the second time in the year, it’s really devastating. I feel terrible for the team. I’m sorry for my part in qualifying, putting myself in that position. We’ll get back up tomorrow and just give it another go," he added.

Hamilton qualified 11th for the sprint but recovered well to finish seventh. However, another disappointing qualifying left him 13th on the grid for Sunday’s race, where a series of incidents hampered his progress through the field and eventually led to his retirement.

Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar