Early qualifying exit incredibly painful – Hamilton

Belgian Grand Prix

Venue: Spa Dates: 25-27 July Race start: 14: 00 BST on Sunday

Lewis Hamilton describes the first qualifying session as “incredibly painful” and places him 16th overall in the Belgian Grand Prix.

The session’s seven-time champion had its time removed because it went beyond track limits at the high-speed Raidillon corner, which was just 0.01 seconds slower than team-mate Charles Leclerc.

After running wide on one lap and a spin on his second, Hamilton was knocked out in the first session of qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race.

“It’s turning out to be a pretty bad weekend so far,” he said.

I made a mistake on my part, so I have to look inside and apologize to my team because it’s unacceptable to be absent in both Q1s.

“It’s a very poor performance for me,” I said.

Hamilton promised to look into the incident with the stewards to learn more about it.

“Everyone takes that kerb, and I’m probably going the distance over it.”

Oscar Piastri’s error in the second half of Friday’s sprint qualifying was the same as the one made by the Australian, but the Australian made it through.

This weekend, Ferrari released a new rear suspension design that would allow them to run the car lower without causing excessive underbody wear, as well as increase drivability and feel.

Hamilton has sounded lukewarm about the changes that have been made this weekend.

He declared, “For the rest of the weekend, I was the same as I was.” The car didn’t feel bad after some adjustments.

I’m so sorry for the team, I really. All the preparation and effort put in went into getting here so we don’t go through Q1. It is unacceptable.

Everyone is obviously working overtime at the factory, and we are trying to do the best with what we have.

We have had upgrades, but I believe that will likely be done for the rest of the year. I believe the first priority will be to concentrate on the car’s future, at least until it is back in production. “This season has been challenging.”

Leclerc admitted to surprise himself by placing behind Max Verstappen of Red Bull in front of the McLarens, but he was more optimistic about the car.

Verstappen, whose final lap was hampered by an error out of the first corner, was 0. 338 seconds behind pole-winner Lando Norris and 0. 0. 0. 0. 0.

Leclerc said, “It’s an upgrade and it’s a step in the right direction, but we’re still talking about very fine differences throughout the entire lap.”

“So it feels a little different, but it’s moving in the right direction, and it’s again because the entire team worked hard at the factory,” the team said.

It’s difficult to close the gap because, sadly for us, McLaren has also brought a few things this weekend and appears to have taken a small step in the right direction. However, I believe we are doing a good job as a team and need to keep working.

For the grand prix, it is anticipated that the Spa track will experience rain, but F1 regulations prevent teams from changing their vehicles between races and qualifying.

After falling one more point by finishing third in the sprint race earlier on Saturday, Norris will now lead Piastri in the championship standings.

Due to the slipstream’s power, Piastri lost the lead to Verstappen on the first lap of the sprint to the Les Combes chicane, but wet weather should allow Norris to maintain the lead.

However, the rain would also put everyone in much more danger because Spa is notoriously challenging in the wet.

It’s probably going to rain, Norris said. We’ll wait and see because I don’t know much more than that.

“There is a higher chance of rain because it’s also a spa.” However, that might also mean that it occasionally only hits one half of the track while keeping the other half dry.

“We could be in for a chaotic race, similar to Australia or Silverstone, with some competitors who are occasionally a little bit in the middle. But it’s most likely to have some rain and drizzle.

“We’re going off the front, so I’m hoping I can just take advantage of that and the fresh air and leave there.”

“The most important thing is that we have the best car,” the saying goes.

Verstappen might have had a chance to challenge the McLarens if it was because he had started behind in the dry.

Red Bull used a low-downforce setup for the sprint, but the team has increased the setup in response to the rainy weather for the grand prix.

However, the four-time champion asserted that success “will be difficult.”

Verstappen once said, “First of all, you can’t really see anything in lap one if it’s wet.”

I hope we can defend our position, but the McLarens are typically very fast in the wet and have that under control thanks to how the inters operate. I’m not therefore deluded.

Leclerc predicted a race at Silverstone that would be difficult if it was wet, based on the evidence so far this year and the previous rain-affected race.

Wet weather is not a strength for our car right now, according to Leclerc. Really, we are having trouble.