Lewis Hamilton failed to qualify for Q2 in the ongoing 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying, his last race weekend with Mercedes. The seven-time world champion was knocked out in Q1 after his final flying lap was a tenth slower than the driver in P15. As he finished the session in P18, he shared a disappointing reaction on the team radio.
Hamilton started the session on a positive note after he went through the first six laps with a decent pace. However, in their last flying lap, other drivers increased the cut-off to Q2, and this was where Hamilton failed to make it to the next round.
“Messed that up big time, guys,” Hamilton said on the radio after he was knocked out.
However, it was later found out that a bollard from the track was knocked into the track by Kevin Magnussen, and Hamilton, unfortunately, collected it with his W-15. As a result, his car’s aerodynamics were hampered, and he lost ample time, which cost him the Q1 exit.
Once he found out, he said on the radio:
“That was bad man, Jesus.”
Replying to this, Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, said:
“Yeah man, it was bad.”
Lewis Hamilton clocked 1:23.887 on the timesheet and was nearly a tenth slower than Fernando Alonso, the driver in P15. Hamilton was 0.585 seconds slower than the driver in P1, Charles Leclerc, who clocked 1:23.302.
Lewis Hamilton’s final race for Mercedes: the Abu Dhabi GP
The 2024 Abu Dhabi GP marks the final race for Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes overalls. The seven-time world champion raced for the Brackley-based team for 12 years after he arrived at the team back in 2013.
With Mercedes, he won six of his seven titles and helped the team win eight Constructors’ Championships, making their partnership the most successful driver-team combination.
Formula 1 is in Abu Dhabi for the season-ending race at Yas Marina Circuit. This is the 24th race weekend of the 2024 season, and the last for Hamilton. The British driver is to part ways with the Silver Arrows after this race as he moves to Ferrari next season.
Max Verstappen wrapped up the Drivers’ Championship in Las Vegas already. However, his team is out of the Constructors’ Championship as McLaren and Ferrari are all set to go head-to-head for the title on Sunday.
