Lewis Hamilton produced a shock result during qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Saturday, as the Mercedes driver failed to progress past Q1.
The 37-year-old is set to start Sunday’s race from 16th on the grid.
Hamilton struggled with his car throughout the session, and in the final moments, found himself in the elimination zone.
On his final hot lap, he moved briefly into the top 15, which would see him progress through to the Q2 segment.
However, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll improved on his final lap and pushed Hamilton back to 16th, ending his day early.
It marks the first time that Hamilton has been eliminated in Q1 since the 2017 Brazilian Grand Prix – however on that occasion, it was a crash that concluded his session.
On pace alone, the last time that Hamilton did not advance into Q2 was the 2009 British Grand Prix, during his third season in the sport 13 years ago.
Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell advanced through the next stage safely.
Alexander Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, Nicholas Latifi and Yuki Tsunoda joined Hamilton in the Q1 dropzone.
Discussion about this post