Dejected Hamilton reflects on his nightmare Qatar GP: 'Won't end on a high'
F1 News
Lewis Hamilton has openly reflected on his nightmare race in Qatar. Hamilton finished 12th, outside the points, while his teammate George Russell finished fourth. Hamilton picked up two separate penalties, suffered a puncture, and then requested Mercedes to retire the car.
"It could have been worse, but I finished, and it's over," Hamilton summarised to GPblog and others in Qatar. "That was me at the start. And then the puncture was really unfortunate. And the pitlane, that was me as well. Not my best, but I'll get back up tomorrow and give it another shot," Hamilton explained.
Hamilton has struggled in recent weeks. Aside from a recovery drive from P10 to P2 in Las Vegas to earn Mercedes a one-two finish, Hamilton has struggled to be at one with the car. That appeared to be a problem again in Qatar.
"We didn't get the wing setting right. It's happened many times. Just basically not having enough front wing in the car, and the car just wouldn't turn. So I was just understeering massively for a long period of time. And honestly, for me, it felt like that's what led to the tyre failing. Maybe it was debris. I didn't see any debris, to be honest, but it's not ideal. It happened just as I got to the pitlane entry," Hamilton added.
How is Hamilton expected Abu Dhabi to go?
Hamilton now has just one race remaining in his Mercedes F1 career. The British driver, who will turn 40 during the winter break, will move to Ferrari for the 2025 Formula 1 season. Hamilton won six World Championships with Mercedes, but doesn't expect to finish on a high.
"I don't think we're going to end up in a high. It will end and I think what's important is how we turn up, we give it our best shot. I don't anticipate a particularly much better weekend than we've had in the past weekends, but naturally I'll try. Go in with low hopes and maybe come out with a better result - it doesn't really make a big difference either way. These last races, for me, don't have an impact on everything we've done together. It's been a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I'm just grateful I'm still standing and I'm still okay. I've had great races in my life, and I've had bad races in my life. Not too many bad ones," Hamilton concluded in Qatar.