Lewis Hamilton was lost for words and motivation once again after suffering a third-successive Q1 exit at Formula 1‘s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
This weekend at the Yas Marina Circuit marks the Briton’s final race of his debut season with the Maranello-based squad.
Naturally, coming into Qualifying on Saturday, the seven-time World Champion would have hoped for a strong showing to end this season on a high.
That said, his dismal run of form with a tricky SF-25 continued as Hamilton failed to progress out of Q1 – for a third successive race weekend – with only the 16th fastest lap.
“I don’t have the words to express how I feel,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “Just a little [wayward].”
Hamilton sat out Friday’s opening hour of running to accommodate team-mate Charles Leclerc’s brother, Arthur’s rookie FP1 session.
“I guess it’s never helpful when you’re… Less running for sure. Everyone’s in the same boat,” he examined when prompted if this had any impact on his preparedness for the session.
The Briton’s running throughout the weekend was further curtailed after a spin during FP3, earlier on Saturday, sent him barrelling towards the barriers.
With a shattered front suspension, Hamilton was forced to sit out the remaining 20 minutes of running before heading out for Qualifying.
Reflecting on these setbacks, however, the 40-year-old insisted that the car felt good and was in proper trim despite his poor showing.
“It definitely doesn’t help when you have a… You miss your second run, but the car was feeling great,” he added.
“I just had some bottoming and then lost the back end.”
When quizzed if the suspension set up was at the root of his bottoming out issues, Hamilton revealed he was not made privy to any such details in particular.
“No, they just fixed the car. They saw some bouncing going on and they said that carried all the way through,” Hamilton explained.
Hamilton delivers bleak F1 2026 outlook
Next season’s regulations overhaul will see all 11 teams on the grid start with a clean slate.
Hopes are that the issues plaguing the current generation of cars will be gone with Hamilton having noticeably struggled to adapt his driving style to the incumbent ground effects cars.
But Hamilton wasn’t too optimistic about his fortunes turning around anytime soon.
The new regulations have also prompted the FIA to run three pre-season tests – two private sessions at Barcelona and Bahrain – starting in February.
When asked if he had any plans for the winter shutdown to bring him out of this slump, he simply said, “I don’t know at the moment, no. Time will tell. It’s the shortest break.”
Looking forward to the final race of the season, on Sunday, Hamilton revealed that from where he will start, only a lucky Safety Car could see him climb up the grid.
“We know it’s hard to pass here. I’m just hoping there’ll be a Safety Car or something you can try,” he surmised.
If not luck, then, “just shove the hard tyres on and go all the way and see what happens. It’s the same thing every weekend for me, give it a shot,” concluded Hamilton.
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