Hamiltonโ Expresses Furyโค After โคanother Qualifying Disappointment in โฃAbu Dhabi
Lewis Hamilton โis visibly frustrated after being eliminated in Q1โ for the fourth consecutive time,culminating in a 16th-place starting position for sunday’s Abu Dhabi โGrand Prix. Following the session,Hamilton offered minimal verbal response during โa โฃSky Sports โF1 interview,answeringโ two โfollow-up questions with only a โขnod.
The โfrustration appeared to stem from ongoing issues with the car’s handling.โ On his out-lap back to the pits, Hamilton radioed โrace engineer Riccardo Adami, stating: “Sorry buddy, same thing every time.” When โasked by โRachel Brooksโฃ if this message related to hisโฃ own qualifying performance, Hamilton โคsimply nodded. He โoffered โthe same non-verbal response โฃwhen asked ifโ he wasโข unable toโค utilize his usual โdriving strength.
In a brief discussion with non-TV media shortly after, Hamilton acknowledged a โcrash during Freeโค Practice 3 โค(FT3) “certainly didn’t help.” Heโ explained the incident at Turnโ 9: โค”The carโ touched downโ and I lost control of it. We โfound bouncing,โ whichโฃ was persistent.”
Whenโข directly asked about his feelings after being knocked โout of Q1 for the fourth time in aโข row,Hamilton stated,”I have no words to express myโ feelings,just a โlot of โขanger.” He declined to specify the source ofโ his anger.
Looking ahead, hamilton โฃadmitted he has “no” plan for how to โimprove the situation โwithin the Ferrari team startingโ Monday. He also expressed uncertainty about his โmental recovery โขduring the upcoming โฃwinter break before theโ 2026 season. “Time will tell. โคit’sโ the shortest break,” he said, noting that the firstโค test โdrives with the new cars are scheduled for โthe โขend โof January in Barcelona.
Hamilton currently has no concrete plans forโ the winterโค break, stating, “At the moment I โdon’t know. I haveโฃ no โคplans for anything.” He also doesn’t anticipate a strong โคresult in Sunday’s race,saying,”From where I start,there’s not much you โcan do.”
Meanwhile, hamilton’s Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, fared significantly better, qualifying in fifth place, securing โa spot on the third row.leclerc successfully navigated Q1 โand Q2 after initially attempting Q1 on medium tires before switching toโฃ softs. He โfinished just 0.085 seconds behind Mercedes driver Georgeโค Russell, who qualified fourth.
Leclerc described the car as “tricky,” stating, “You just โคhave โฃto drive it with fullโข commitment. That either โtakes you into the wall or out of Q1.” He added โthat he had made โขchanges to the car between Friday and Saturday, feeling anโ enhancement, thoughโ it wasn’t โimmediatelyโข apparent in โคFT3.He expressed satisfaction with his qualifying performance,โ notably his laps in โขQ3, stating he “gave it [his] all.”
