U.S. GP: Hamilton suffers technical failure, eliminated in Q1
Lewis Hamilton had a disastrous qualifying session at the US Grand Prix, being eliminated from Q1 for the first time since the Chinese Grand Prix. A front suspension failure during the Sprint disrupted his preparation. The Briton, who will start from 18th position, is considering a pitstop in view of his Mercedes' performance problems.
A nightmare qualification for Lewis Hamilton at the United States Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion was eliminated in Q1, setting the 19th time in qualifying, his worst performance of the 2024 season.
The Mercedes driver encountered some difficulties during his last fast lap in Q1. Despite a promising first sector, he lost control of his car at turn 12, costing him nearly half a second in the second sector. Faced with this unexpected situation, the British champion could only utter a brief “Ah, ok guys” on the radio when his engineer Peter Bonnington informed him of his elimination.
This underperformance originates from the technical problems encountered earlier in the day. We had a front suspension failure during the Sprint formation lap, which I had to deal with throughout the race, explained Hamilton. The car was a nightmare in qualifying today, I will probably have to start from the pit lane, otherwise I won’t go anywhere from my current position.
The Briton, who holds the record for wins on this circuit, emphasized the instability of his car. The car was fantastic yesterday, so I was very optimistic for today. Something broke in the front suspension, literally as we left the pit lane for the warm-up lap, and I had to deal with it throughout the race. The team identified the problem and changed it, but everything was messy during the qualifications.
Mercedes specified that it was a bearing issue and that all components had been replaced before the qualifications. Despite these interventions, the adjustments did not allow to recover the expected performances.
The team had, however, started the week with a lot of optimism, bringing promising updates and good performances from its drivers, especially during Friday’s Sprint qualifying, where George Russell started second on the grid. Lewis Hamilton was also well placed to challenge for pole position before being interrupted by a yellow flag following a spin by Williams’ Franco Colapinto at turn 12.
The driver should start from the 18th position at the United States Grand Prix thanks to the penalty imposed on Liam Lawson from RB for a complete change of his power unit. However, the British driver remains pragmatic in the face of the difficulties his Mercedes has encountered, stating that “It’s certainly demoralizing, but that’s how it is. I’m already focusing on next week.” Mercedes will now have to decide between starting from the 18th position or from the pit lane, an option that would allow the team to make more significant changes to the car’s settings.
