Hamilton bemoans bad luck after Q1 exit on farewell Mercedes weekend

Lewis Hamilton bemoaned his back luck and felt he could have pushed for a podium in his final race for Mercedes, only for his Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying to end in a disappointing Q1 exit after a dislodged bollard got trapped under his car.

The seven-time world champion was on his final effort to put in a lap that would get him through to Q2 when he came upon a slow Kevin Magnussen in the Haas.

The Dane, aware Hamilton was coming up behind him in the hotel section, moved off the track and behind the kerbs to try not to block the Mercedes.

However, in doing so, Magnussen struck the bollard that is on the inside apex, flinging it across the track just as Hamilton arrived.

With no time to react, Hamilton ran over the bollard, and it got trapped underneath his car as he attempted to finish the lap and was ultimately only 18th fastest.

Clearly angry about the situation and the lack of pace, Hamilton came on the team radio straight afterwards and said: “That was bad man, Jesus”

Speaking after his forgettable final qualifying session for Mercedes, Hamilton revealed he had hoped a podium on Sunday could have been in his grasp.

“It’s just my luck, but it’s okay. You know, I tried, we tried so hard with the set-up, we got the car in a great place, and it was looking good in P3 [third practice],” he said.

“So I was really thinking maybe a podium is possible this weekend and yeah, then timing was not optimised for the session. I was the last one on the track and obviously I ended up behind one of the Alpines right in the end so I just ran out of time.

“I don’t have any emotions. I’m pretty chill. We had this unfortunate session and got the bollard under the car.

“I think for me, I’ve just been very present. I’ve been enjoying every moment. I’ve got the car in a really good place.

“The set-up changes we’ve making, the car has been completely different to the last five races. This weekend it has been feeling really great, and so it is unfortunate.”

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Magnussen explained the situation when asked about the bollard incident by Motorsport.com: “Lewis was coming very close behind Bottas, I think,” he said.

“There was someone coming and I let him past, and I wasn’t aware that Lewis was right on his tail. They were both pushing so I went onto the inside of Turn 14 to get out of the way.”

Hamilton will move up the grid due to penalties for Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon, something he admits he is “really grateful” for as he targets a memorable last race for his current squad.

“The pace was decent. It’s not going to be easy to overtake tomorrow. I’ve got to work on strategy now and instead of fighting for a podium let’s see how far I can get, if I can get into the top 10, that would be amazing,” he added.

“I mean, I will try…as I said, the car’s been feeling decent and to go from the P1, P2 where I was always relatively in the top five to the being 18th definitely changes the look into the weekend, but I I’m still trying to be really present.

“I’m still really grateful the team have been…the car’s been completely different this weekend and it’s been so, so much nicer to drive and so my hopes are high but it is what it is, I’ll try and come back from there.”