The crucial advice Steiner would give Hamilton if he was his team principal

Lewis Hamilton made plenty of headlines over the final weekend before the summer break at the Hungaroring, where he failed to finish higher than 12th in the race after being knocked out in Q2.

Also under the spotlight were his post-qualifying comments, when, visibly dejected by the result, he described himself as “useless” and suggested Ferrari should probably “change driver.”

Those remarks were scrutinised by Guenther Steiner, who, in an interview with web.de, offered his take on the former Mercedes driver’s difficult season so far.

According to the former Haas team principal, Hamilton has so far fallen short of expectations, as evidenced by his comparison with Charles Leclerc: ''He's not useless, but at the moment he's not delivering what was expected of it. He is dissatisfied with himself. And the public expectation is also huge, perhaps too great.''

After 14 Grands Prix, Hamilton has yet to reach the podium, unlike his teammate who has secured five podiums and even claimed a pole position—achieved at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Asked why Hamilton is still struggling despite the season being well past its halfway point, Steiner added: ''He has his Lost self-confidence. If you don't believe in yourself anymore, you can't perform. You just have to remember: When his move to Ferrari was announced, it was a huge hype. Also for me.''

Finally, when asked what advice he would give Hamilton if he were his team principal, the Italian-American concluded: ''Grit your teeth, give it your all, but don't get too mental. Not constantly thinking about what others think or say. If you can't beat Charles, try to stick with him.''