Lewis Hamilton Eliminated in Q1 for Third Consecutive Qualifying Session at Qatar Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton faced another setback, exiting Q1 during qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix, extending a challenging weekend at the Lusail International Circuit. This marks his third consecutive qualifying elimination, a concerning trend for the seven-time world champion.

Why it matters:

Hamilton's repeated early exits from qualifying sessions are a significant concern for both himself and Ferrari. As a driver of his caliber, consistently failing to progress beyond Q1 or SQ1 signals deeper issues with car performance or setup, raising questions about his ability to contend at the front of the grid. This slump is a stark contrast to his usual performance and impacts Ferrari's overall constructor aspirations.

The Details:

• Hamilton was eliminated in SQ1 on Friday evening and finished a disappointing P17 in the sprint race.
• He will start the Qatar Grand Prix from P18, with only Lance Stroll and Franco Colapinto behind him.
• His qualifying time was nearly 0.35 seconds slower than his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, who qualified P8.
• This Q1 elimination follows a last-place qualifying effort at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which was his first career instance of finishing slowest on pure pace in a grid-setting session.
• Hamilton has now recorded consecutive Q1 knock-outs in grand prix qualifying for the first time since 2009, when he failed to reach Q2 three times in a row across the Monaco, Turkish, and British Grands Prix.
• Yuki Tsunoda also failed to make it to Q2, qualifying P16, despite outperforming Max Verstappen in sprint qualifying.

The Big Picture:

Hamilton's current struggles highlight a challenging period in his illustrious career. While individual errors can occur, a pattern of poor qualifying performances suggests underlying issues that Ferrari needs to address urgently. For a team aiming for championship contention, both drivers need to consistently perform at the sharp end, and Hamilton's current form is clearly not meeting those expectations. This downturn comes at a critical time as teams look ahead to future regulations and driver contracts.

What's next:

The focus for Hamilton and Ferrari will be on understanding the root cause of these performance issues. The team will need to thoroughly analyze data from the Qatar Grand Prix weekend to identify whether the problem lies with car setup, driver adaptation to the circuit, or more fundamental car characteristics. Resolving these challenges will be crucial for Hamilton to regain his competitive edge and for Ferrari to demonstrate their capability to support a top-tier driver consistently.