Alesi joined the chorus of Hamilton's critics.

      This year has probably been the most difficult of Lewis Hamilton’s career, if he himself is willing to admit that he is "absolutely useless" to Ferrari. The seven-time world champion even said that Ferrari "needs to change the driver," although here he is perhaps somewhat overstating matters.

      Many have already criticized him for such words, for example Günther Steiner, but other experts have also commented on the topic. For instance, Ralf Schumacher said while taking part in the Backstage Boxengasse podcast: "Either you stand by your words and explain what is going on, or you keep quiet."

      Bernie Ecclestone expressed himself more radically in an interview with the Daily Mail: "If he continues to compete, he will only be deceiving himself. He should retire."

      Jean Alesi, a former Formula 1 driver who raced for Ferrari in the mid‑’90s, wrote along similar lines in his column for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera: "In my opinion, Hamilton’s attitude demoralizes everyone who works with him. Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher would never have said anything like that."

      Analyzing the Scuderia’s performance in Hungary, where Charles Leclerc took pole but finished only fourth, Alesi writes: "At first it all felt like an Italian comedy, but it turned into a horror film. George Russell spoke about this too, observing how Leclerc’s car behaved on track. When Ferrari succeeds on Saturday but fails to deliver the necessary result on Sunday, that’s what infuriates all those who cheer for the Scuderia."