Las Vegas, Nov 22 Lewis Hamilton admitted things “can’t get much worse than that” after qualifying slowest on pure pace for the first time in his Formula 1 career at the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday. After calling his debut season with Ferrari a “nightmare” in the wake of the team’s double DNF at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Hamilton’s fortunes dipped even further in Las Vegas.
Although he showed strong speed during practice, rain and a damp circuit during qualifying disrupted the session, and Hamilton was unable to find any performance, leaving him at the back of the grid.
"I just don't really have words for it. It's obviously not good enough, and I didn't have any -- I couldn't get any temperature into the tyres. I just had a lot of understeer, and then I think one of my front brakes was glazed, so I was really struggling to stop in the corners,” said Hamilton following his Q1 exit.
Hamilton’s result signalled an unwelcome milestone for the seven-time World Champion and marked the first time a Ferrari has qualified slowest since the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
In the much drier final practice session, Hamilton had demonstrated encouraging speed, finishing fifth fastest.
Of the drop off in the wet, he added, "It's very annoying, of course, because I felt in (FP3) that the car was feeling awesome. Honestly, I thought it was going to be a great day, but it's turned out to be the worst. So it obviously can't get much worse than that."
At the end of Q1, confusion arose over whether Hamilton had crossed the line in time for a final push, with the seven-time champion telling Sky Sports F1, “I had to have a lift, and when I came to the line, it was red.”
He also seemed to strike a loose cone during the session, a moment that may have unintentionally affected his pace.
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