Lewis Hamilton suffered a shock qualifying elimination and will start 16th in the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
It was a disastrous session for Hamilton who could only achieve a lap time good enough for 16th place, which saw the seven-time world champion eliminated in Q1. His teammate George Russell, however, set a lap time that was good enough for fourth on the grid during that same session..
It was the first time Hamilton had failed to get out of Q1 since Brazil in 2017 and underlines the difficulties Mercedes and Hamilton have been facing with the new F1 season. The Brit was far from at ease for the whole session with many questioning the place the car is currently in.
Hamilton’s race engineer, Peter Bonnington said: “Unfortunately that is us in P16.” A gutted Hamilton, six tenths slower than George Russell in the other Mercedes, replied: “I am so sorry, guys.”
Following his performance he admitted that he had been struggling with the balance of the car through the whole session.
Mercedes' struggles and lack of pace have been well-documented so far during the early stages of the 2022 Formula 1 season but no one could have predicted how far off Hamilton would be through today's session. With two minutes of Q1 today Hamilton said: “Can’t seem to improve, man… are we are at risk right now?”
Bonnington replied: “Affirm, we are at risk.” It's an extraordinary change of circumstances for the Brit who won last year's edition of this Grand Prix.
The following qualifying session, Q2, was also marred following a horrifying crash involving Haas driver Mick Schumacher that saw the session red flagged. The German racer hit the barriers through turn 12 at high speed in what was an enormous impact.
Schumacher was immediately tended to by medics and was thankfully conscious before being lifted out the car by the medical team on hand.
He was then taken to the medical centre to be further treated before his stricken car was lifted off track and almost split in two, highlighting the damage that had been done in the crash. Further updates on the racer's condition are still to be confirmed.
