Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes F1 suffered a rainy day Q1 defeat in the qualifying for the 2022 F1 Round 2 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Seven-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in 16th fastest time in Q1 qualifying at the Jeddah Cornish Circuit. Hamilton, who struggled with the pace throughout the session, commented on the radio that he was “not willing to set the time.”
Lewis Hamilton temporarily set the time to 15th in the last run, but just before the end, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) surpassed and fell into the knockout zone again.
Lewis Hamilton has been eliminated from Q1 since the 2017 Brazilian Grand Prix crashed. It is the first time that he has been knocked out with pure performance since the 2009 British Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton, informed of the results, apologized to the team by radio saying “So sorry guys”.
Lewis Hamilton, pole sitter at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last year, “I was having a hard time balancing my car. It’s not the place I want,” he told Sky Sports F1.
Lewis Hamilton denied that he was distracted by growing concerns about qualifying, including discussing safety after a missile attack in Jeddah at a midnight driver’s meeting on Friday.
“We are professionals. We can block whatever we need,” said Lewis Hamilton.
“There was a problem with the setup”
Following this result, Lewis Hamilton suggests starting from the pit lane with all the setup changes.
Mercedes F1 teammate George Russell has advanced to Q3 and finished qualifying in 6th place.
Category: Category: F1 / Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes / F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix