Lewis Hamilton suffers US GP qualifying nightmare as hush falls over Austin F1 track

Lewis Hamilton had a precise accordant qualifying grounds astatine the Circuit of the Americas but mislaid it connected Saturday with a thigh that was 19th quickest retired of the 20 drivers connected track

A hush fell implicit the Circuit of the Americas arsenic Lewis Hamilton suffered an unexpected Q1 exit.

Hamilton is incredibly fashionable successful the USA and has a beardown grounds successful Austin. But helium was the 2nd slowest of the 20 drivers connected way successful Q1 connected Saturday nighttime and was P19 connected the timesheets - supra lone Zhou Guanyu.

It marks the archetypal clip the seven-time Formula 1 champion has ever qualified extracurricular the apical 5 for a Grand Prix astatine COTA. Replays showed him endure a ample lock-up connected that champion flying thigh which outgo him astir half-a-second successful the mediate assemblage of the track.

Commentating connected the unrecorded actions, the Sky Sports F1 commentary squad could hardly judge what they were watching. Lead commentator David Croft said: "That is it for Lewis Hamilton astatine a circuit where, erstwhile it comes to Grand Prix qualifying, helium has ever qualified wrong the apical five.

"But helium has not made it retired of the bottommost 5 successful the archetypal circular of qualifying! That is simply a immense upset... There is simply a spot of a hush astir the way arsenic the fans instrumentality successful that peculiar effort from Lewis Hamilton in."

Co-commentator Martin Brundle was likewise dumbstruck and asked: "What connected world is going on?" Hamilton was joined successful exiting the league successful Q1 by some Sauber and Williams cars - Valtteri Bottas 18th supra him, portion Alex Albon edged retired team-mate Franco Colapinto to spell 16th fastest.

All of them, including Hamilton, volition emergence astatine slightest 1 spot connected the grid for the race, though. That is due to the fact that Liam Lawson has inherited a acceptable of motor penalties from predecessor Daniel Ricciardo and truthful volition commencement astatine the backmost of the grid contempt making it safely done to Q2.

For Hamilton, it was a miserable continuation of what helium had experienced successful the Sprint contention earlier connected Saturday. He started seventh and did negociate to emergence 1 spot to decorativeness sixth, but struggled for gait throughout. George Russell, who safely made it done to Q2, was 5th successful the Sprint and suffered beforehand tyre degradation portion Hamilton had occupation with his rears.

That disparity meant bafflement for some drivers erstwhile trying to marque heads oregon tails of what had happened. Hamilton said: "Definitely a confusing effect successful that helium had 1 occupation and I had different problem. I had zero pace... We volition look into it and determination are changes we tin make, but it is simply a batch hotter than it was yesterday truthful that is evidently portion of the reason."

And Russell added: "I was speedy successful the opening and past I had nary tyres left... I spoke to Lewis aft the contention and helium had nary rear tyres left, truthful we are intelligibly missing something. It is simply a small spot hotter contiguous and the archetypal clip we person tally connected these mean tyres."