Lewis Hamilton’s Q1 exit in Saudi Arabia is his worst qualifying result since 2017 and while he doesn’t expect overnight transformation, the seven-time champion is adamant he will do whatever it takes to salvage his race.
Hamilton exited Q1 in P16 at Jeddah on Saturday night as Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll improved at his expense – sending the Mercedes driver out of qualifying while his teammate George Russell made it into Q3 and eventually finished sixth on the grid.
WATCH: Lewis Hamilton retired in Q1
When asked if he was surprised by the result, the 103-time polesitter was almost speechless: “Yes, of course. I just had issues with the balance of the car and yeah, not where we want to be.
“It was the vote. Things were looking good on P3, we tried to progress in a similar direction and maybe went too far. And the car was just undriveable – I was so nervous.
Now Hamilton, who took pole and won here in 2021, will start three rows from the back of the grid as he tries to salvage a result for the Silver Arrows – for whom he salvaged a podium at last weekend’s Bahrain GP.
“I have the same car as in qualifying so I don’t expect to get that far up the field,” he continued. “But I will give everything.”
Teammate Russell was more open about his concerns about the pace of the Mercedes W13 as he qualified sixth – behind Esteban Ocon’s Alpine and just 0.043s ahead of Fernando Alonso’s other Alpine.
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“P5 was definitely possible,” said Russell, “but it was a very tough day and weekend for the team. I’m really having trouble getting the car in the window. We know what our problems with porpoises are. We’re doing everything we can to solve it, but unfortunately we’re not making much progress at the moment, everyone is working day and night to get it under control.
“Every day is a learning day, I’m sure we learned something from this qualifying session, but unfortunately it’s a championship and we want to keep fighting to the top.”
Sergio Perez took a stunning first pole position ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in qualifying – in a session interrupted by Mick Schumacher’s serious crash, for which he was taken to hospital for precautionary checks.