Hamilton: I'm absolutely useless they probably need to change driver

It marked a new low in a difficult first season with Ferrari for seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Hamilton, who qualified outside the top 10 for the second race in a row.

"I'm useless, absolutely useless," Hamilton told British broadcaster Sky Sports. "The team have no problem. You've seen the car's on pole. So they probably need to change driver."

Hamilton had said "every time, every time" over the radio after being eliminated in the second part of qualifying. He later clarified to Sky that he meant "it's me every time."

Later, Hamilton said in the Ferrari report: "Clearly a massively disappointing day and being on the wrong side of a tenth cost me. Congratulations to Charles and the team. It shows what can happen when things align. I’ve got a lot of work to do and will remain focused on that."

Hamilton initially appeared set to qualify 13th, but was promoted to 12th after Kimi Antonelli's time was deleted for exceeding track limits.

It was the second consecutive week Hamilton expressed frustration with his qualifying form. He qualified 18th for the sprint race in Belgium last week after a spin, and 16th for the Grand Prix after one of his lap times was deleted.

Still, he delivered one of his best drives of the year on Sunday in Belgium, cutting through the field on a wet track to finish seventh.

After his shock move from Mercedes last year, Hamilton has yet to finish on the podium in a Grand Prix for Ferrari, with a best result of fourth.

He did win the sprint race in China in March, but both he and Leclerc were disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix the following day due to technical infringements, prompting a time-consuming rethink of Ferrari’s race setups.

Leclerc is currently fifth in the Drivers’ Championship, just one position ahead of Hamilton, and has five podium finishes in 2025. In Sunday’s race, he’ll aim to give Ferrari its first F1 win since October.

Last week, Hamilton said it was "crunch time" and revealed he has been holding a series of meetings with Ferrari executives to discuss improvements and ensure he has greater influence over development of the car ahead of the sweeping regulation changes coming in 2026.