“Last time Lewis Hamilton didn’t make Q2, he won the championship” – How Lewis Hamilton out in Q1 in Jeddah could be beneficial for Mercedes start?

Lewis Hamilton got eliminated in Q1 in Jeddah while his teammate George Russell made up to the fourth position.

Lewis Hamilton will start the race on Sunday from P16 after getting eliminated in the Q1 of the Saudi Arabian GP. Meanwhile, his teammate George Russell positioned himself in fourth place.

This is the first time since 2017 that the seven-time world champion got eliminated in Q1. In 2017, he crashed into the wall in Brazil and had to retire from the session.

However, in that same year, Hamilton went ahead to win the drivers’ title against Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. Given that, Hamilton’s elimination in Jeddah could be beneficial for the Mercedes F1 team.

After his retirement from the track in Saudi Arabia, Hamilton told his pit crew, “So Sorry, guys. I was struggling with the balance of the car.”

Also Read: F1 Twitter erupts after Lewis Hamilton gets knocked out of Q1 during qualifying at the Saudi Arabian GP

Lewis Hamilton – “it’s not where we want to be”

Mercedes hasn’t been able to deliver an up to mark performance in the 2022 season so far, but Hamilton’s elimination was completely unexpected.

The misfortune for Hamilton comes ahead of his record 180th Grand Prix with the Mercedes team. With this, he will surpass the partnership between Micheal Schumacher and Ferrari.

Talking to a Sky Sports reporter on the circuit, the Briton said, “Just struggled with the balance of the car, it’s not where we want to be.”

When asked if the dramatic past 24 hours following the missile attack near the circuit have had an impact on his performance, Hamilton denied it and said he was able to remain focused on practice and then qualifying.

“We’re professional, we lock out whatever it needs. Just unfortunately we went the wrong way with the set-up.”

Also Read:  Why Lewis Hamilton getting eliminated from Q1 in Jeddah is different from Sao Paulo