Lewis Hamilton says the harsh self-criticism he dished out at the Hungarian Grand Prix is "obviously not truly how I feel" and that he is focused on "getting back to enjoying my job" after F1's summer break.

Hamilton said he was "useless" and suggested that Ferrari "probably need to change driver" immediately after he qualified 12th at the last race before the break at the Hungaroring, on a day team-mate Charles Leclerc claimed a stunning pole position.

The seven-time champion went on to finish in the same position in the race, outside the points.

But one month on and after three full weeks without racing, Hamilton said on F1's return at Zandvoort on Thursday that having the chance to "completely unplug" during the break given him chance to "reset".

"Firstly, in the heat of the moment that can happen to anyone," he said of his Hungary comments ahead of this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix.

"It's obviously not truly how I feel.

"I haven't worked with anyone during this break. I've just been with family, been with my niece and nephew, with (his dog) Roscoe. It's been great.

"I've enjoyed being away and being able to unplug. And then just bring myself back to my core, that's how I've always done it - with lots of meditation and just finding gratitude in every single day and realigning yourself to your core beliefs.

"They've always been there, and I will use those moving forwards."

Hamilton said he was "excited to be back" and "I just want to get going" for the final 10 races of his debut Ferrari season, while also clarifying he had not considered stepping away from the sport in the wake of Hungary.

"The break came at a perfect time," he added.

"During that time was enough for me to be able to reset.

"We go into the second half, which is going to be tough, but I've got the whole team behind, and I'm confident we'll make progress in the second half of the season."

With 10 races left in his much-scrutinised first season in red, Hamilton said that "right now it's about calming some things down and just focusing on getting back to enjoying my job".

Speaking to the written media at Zandvoort, he added: "I feel determined to, and motivated.

"We're going to work hard, keep our heads down, try to change a few things in our approach and start to enjoy ourselves.

"There's been so much pressure in this first half of the season, it's not been the most enjoyable, so I think just remembering that we love what we do, we're all in this together and yeah, we're trying to have some fun."

Asked where the pressure comes from, Hamilton said: "Ultimately to get on top of everything, the amount of work we have, all the new partners, the amount of shoots we've done, getting integrated into a new team - and it's a big team.

"It's the biggest brand in our sport. A combination of all those different things has been a lot."

Hamilton's arrival at Ferrari from Mercedes in January represented the biggest and highest-profile driver transfer in F1 history, with the union marrying up the sport's most successful driver with its most successful team.

But, an early-season victory in the China Sprint aside, Hamilton's first season in red has proved difficult - with no podium finishes in the year's first 14 races. And while Ferrari remain the only one of F1's four teams without a Grand Prix victory this year, Leclerc has been on the podium five times.

On the importance of having fun amid the attempt to find a breakthrough on track, Hamilton said: "It's probably the most important part because that's the reason I got into this sport. It was fun for me, and I think for anyone, whatever career you're in, if you're not enjoying what you're doing, then why are you doing it?

"There can often be so much noise, you can lose sight of what's really, really important, so that's what I'm saying, I just really want to focus on getting back to that enjoyment.

"I joined the team that I've always dreamed of driving for, and there's been so much noise around that it's kind of clouded us from getting to enjoy it, so now it's about kind of moving those things aside, and just getting back to focussing on the pure love of what we do."

Friday August 29
9.05am: F1 Academy Practice 1
11am: Dutch Grand Prix Practice One (session starts at 11:30am)*
1.30pm: Team principals' press conference
2.45pm: Dutch Grand Prix Practice Two (session starts at 3pm)*
4.25pm: F1 Academy Practice 2
5.20pm: The F1 Show

Saturday August 30
9.20am: F1 Academy Qualifying
10.05am: Dutch Grand Prix Practice Three (session starts at 10:30am)*
1pm: Dutch Grand Prix Qualifying build-up
2pm: DUTCH GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING
4pm: F1 Academy Race 1

Sunday August 31
9.35am: F1 Academy Race 2
10.50am: Porsche Supercup Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Dutch GP build-up
2pm: The DUTCH GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Dutch GP reaction

*also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 returns after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime