Joe Ramirez: I don't know what's going on with Hamilton...

      Joe Ramirez is a true motorsport veteran who has devoted his life to Formula 1. For 18 years he worked as a coordinator for the McLaren team and collaborated with stars such as Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard. He is now over 80, but he still closely follows what happens in the F1 paddock and attends races.

      And he could not remain aloof after hearing words from Lewis Hamilton in Hungary that left many baffled or even more strongly moved. We have already cited the opinions of some other well-known people, but here is what Ramirez said to the seven-time world champion.

      “In Budapest I had a short conversation with him because he was too openly indulging in self-flagellation,” the Mexican said in an interview with ESPN. “And I told him, ‘Lewis, you can’t talk and act like that. Yes, you had a bad day, but everyone has days like that, yet you tend to exaggerate the problems.’

      This guy doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone; he has won seven world championships. But if you think about it, he has always driven for British teams. He was at McLaren, then moved to Mercedes — it is a German marque, but the team is based in England. All the engineers there are English, and the boss is Austrian.

      In short, he has always dealt with the British system of organization, and now, having become a driver for an Italian team, he feels uncomfortable. Because the approach there is different. Maybe he doesn’t notice it or doesn’t want to, but we can see that he has problems.

      I don’t know what is happening to him. In general, if he can’t fix this situation, I wouldn’t rule out that he will not be in the championship next year, and that would be something to regret.”

      After 14 rounds of the season Hamilton sits sixth in the drivers’ standings, 42 points behind Charles Leclerc, who, unlike his teammate, has already stood on the podium five times.