Lewis Hamilton suffered another setback this weekend when he was eliminated in the first round of qualifying for the United States Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver described the session as “definitely demoralising” when he spoke to the official F1 channel. He originally set a time which was only good enough for 16th, but then lost that time when the stewards ruled he exceeded track limits at turn 12. That left Hamilton provisionally 19th on the grid.
It has been a frustrating weekend for the seven-times champion so far. Hamilton had a high-speed spin in practice, then missed a chance to take pole position for the sprint race when he had to back off for a yellow flag at turn 12.
He revealed he had a problem with his car during the sprint race, which he finished sixth. “We had some sort of failure from the formation lap on the front suspension and I had that throughout the sprint race and that made the balance really difficult,” he told Sky.
Hamilton said he had “a very inconsistent balance and no grip” in qualifying.
Although he is set to gain places from rivals’ penalties, Hamilton wants to make further set-up changes to his car which would mean he has to start from the pits.
“We did change a couple of things which was just in the direction of what we would have done yesterday and the car was a nightmare today in quali,” he said. “So I think I should probably start in the pit lane because otherwise I won’t be going anywhere from there.”
This article will be updated.
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2024 United States Grand Prix
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