Is "absolutely useless" Hamilton serious about Ferrari ditching him?

But it was not a retirement warning bu Hamilton. That’s according to renowned body language expert Darren Stanton, who believes the British driver is not about to walk away from Formula 1, even as frustration mounts within the Ferrari camp.

“In all the years I've been assessing Lewis Hamilton, I've never ever seen him so unhappy and in such a depth of emotion,” Stanton said in an interview with OLBG. “It was a real mixture of anger and frustration in his face. I think from what we see in his body language that he was alluding to something in the heat of the moment.”

Hamilton qualified 12th in Budapest while teammate Charles Leclerc stormed to pole. After the session, Hamilton told Sky Sports, “I’m useless, absolutely useless. The team have no problem. You’ve seen the car’s on pole. So they probably need to change driver.”

His words shocked many, but Stanton believes they revealed more about internal dynamics at Ferrari than any real intent to quit.

Stanton elaborated: “Whether that anger’s at himself, because he alluded to the fact that there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes, maybe at politics within Ferrari, or whether he’s got personal stuff going on, I truly don’t believe he’s going to quit,” Stanton said.

Known as the 'human lie detector,' Stanton pointed to specific signals that indicate Hamilton is wrestling with deeper emotional fatigue. “From a non-verbal perspective, he's a deeply troubled man at the moment. He's got his head dipped down into the side.

"He's usually a very good communicator and very happy to speak to the media but when someone dips their head down and tips it to the side, it's generally a gesture of shame,” he explained.

Stanton added: “Also his eye contact was really poor. He was using the brim or the peak of his cap to basically cover his face because his eyes were going to give too much away. When we did see his face, it was very stoic, almost emotionless.

"We're not getting a massive read off across any of the usual emotions but there was a little bit of anger with the eyebrows coming together and his lips being pursed," reckoned Stanton.

The China Sprint Race win in March remains Hamilton’s lone highlight of the 2025 season. He has yet to finish on the podium in a Grand Prix for Ferrari. Last week, he admitted it was “crunch time” and revealed he had been in multiple meetings with Ferrari leadership to push for greater input on the 2026 car project.

According to Stanton, the summer break could offer vital breathing room: “He's obviously a perfectionist. Something's not going right for him right now and he can't figure it out. That's why he said he's looking forward to the summer break to perhaps unravel whatever's going on.”

Stanton concluded: “I do think we’ll see him back after the summer break. He’s not a quitter. He probably just needs a break. Even the best people burn out and he’s been at this, at the highest level, for so long.”

Before setting off on his break, after a disappointing P12 in Hungary on Sunday, Hamilton cut a despondent figure, cryptically (or not?) telling reporters: “I look forward to coming back. Hopefully, I will be back, yeah.”