LEWIS HAMILTON slammed himself as “useless” and told Ferrari to “CHANGE driver” after another nightmare qualifying saw him booted out in 12th.
To make matters worse for the seven-time world champion his teammate Charles Leclerc bagged a shock pole position at the Hungaroring.
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Hamilton’s Q2 exit comes after the British 40-year-old was axed all the way back in 18th in Q1 at the Belgian Grand Prix last time out.
And today, Rookies Gabriel Bortoleto, Isack Hadjar and Ollie Bearman all finished ahead of the British 40-year-old in Hungary.
Hamilton said “Everytime, everytime.” on his team radio as the mechanics rolled his car back into the garage.
He added: “It’s me every time. I’m useless, absolutely useless.
“The team have no problem. You’ve seen the car’s on pole so we probably need to change driver.”
Told his assessment is obviously not the case, Hamilton replied: “It clearly is. I just drove terribly. It is what it is.”
Hamilton has not finished on the podium after 13-races since his move to Ferrari this season, meanwhile his teammate Leclerc is 30-points above him in the driver’s standings.
Nobody saw it coming, the first pole of the year for Leclerc, 27, to stun second-place Oscar Piastri and third-place Lando Norris in their lightning quick McLarens.
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Leclerc’s stunning lap threw a huge spanner in the works as McLaren had looked on course to line up one-two on the grid after the first two sessions.
But soon they were left scratching their heads and blaming the wind, which in fairness flipped the final session on its head on the outskirts of Budapest.
Monegasque driver Leclerc even laughed when he was told on the team radio he secured pole, saying: “Whaaaaaaaaat?!”
He added afterwards: “Today I don’t understand anything in Formula 1! Honestly, the whole qualifying has been extremely difficult.
“Honestly, I have no words. It’s probably one of the best pole positions that I’ve ever had, because it’s the most unexpected, for sure.”
Piastri and Norris both blamed the wind, with the Brit saying: “From how our form is, then of course (it’s disappointing), but I think Charles did a good job on the last lap.
“He probably risked a little bit more in these conditions. The wind changed a lot and it really seemed to punish us in a bigger way it seems.”
Aussie driver Piastri added: “I think the wind changed a lot. It always sounds so pathetic, blaming things on the wind, but the wind basically did a 180 from Q1 to Q3.”
There was more frustration for Mercedes as Italian 18-year-old Kimi Anontelli was out in Q2, having to settle for 15th on the grid for Sunday’s race.
Meanwhile, George Russell gave Toto Wolff’s team a glimmer of hope, lining up in fourth-place on the grid for the race while Mac Verstappen who has been struggling all weekend came in eighth.
Red Bull’s Yuki Tsundoa was the biggest casualty from the first session as he was eliminated in 16th.
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