Lewis Hamilton drops 5-word verdict about his Ferrari during F1 Hungarian GP FP1

Lewis Hamilton shared a damning verdict about his Ferrari SF-25 during FP1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix, claiming that his car doesn't quite feel right. The 7x world champion is competing at the Hungaroring for the 19th time in his F1 career this weekend, looking for his ninth victory at the venue.

The Hungarian GP is one of Lewis Hamilton's favorite tracks in F1, with the Briton having claimed eight wins at the Hungaroring. But as his struggles at Ferrari continue, even a first podium with his new team would be a hugely successful weekend for Hamilton.

But the race weekend hasn't started in ideal fashion for the driver, who has encountered some trouble with his Ferrari SF-25 at the first practice session in Budapest on Friday.

After his first few runs in the practice session, Hamilton returned to the pits, complaining about his car. His race engineer, Riccardo Adami, asked if he wished to continue on another run, but the driver replied saying:

"No, car doesn’t feel good."

After this, Hamilton did make his way back out onto the track on soft compound tires, presumably after having made some setup changes to his car. But at the time of writing, he still seems to be well off the pace of McLaren's Lando Norris, and even his own teammate Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton is looking to bounce back at Hungary after a poor qualifying display at the previously concluded Belgian GP. The 40-year-old was knocked out in the first part of qualifying for both the Sprint and the race sessions at Spa.

But he then made a tremendous recovery drive, finishing the race in P7 after having started from the pitlane. Hamilton was also largely positive about Ferrari's new upgrades that they brought in last weekend.

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Lewis Hamilton reflects on start to life at Ferrari prior to the summer break

Lewis Hamilton at the Hungarian Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Lewis Hamilton spoke candidly as he shared how it has been tough for him to integrate into a new team and culture since moving to Ferrari in 2025. The driver even claimed that he could shed a few tears to release some of the tension he has been under over the last six months.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Hamilton claimed that the ongoing season has been the most intense one he has witnessed in recent years, before adding:

"Integrating into a new culture and into a new team. It's not gone smoothly in all areas, and it's been a real battle." [via Sky Sports] "I definitely need to get away and recharge, be around the kids, laugh, let go. I'm sure there'll be some tears at some point and I think that's really healthy," he added.

Hamilton will head into the summer break sitting sixth in the drivers' standings, irrespective of his result at the Hungarian GP. Before the race, he sits 30 points behind teammate Charles Leclerc, and 46 ahead of his replacement at Mercedes, Kimi Antonelli.

Edited by Mitali