Lewis Hamilton made his disappointment known after huge blow at Belgian GP
Any hopes Lewis Hamilton has of defending his title at Spa suffered a major blow following Saturday's qualifying disaster. And it marks the second consecutive Belgian Grand Prix that has witnessed the Formula 1 legend embroiled in drama.
Ferrari required their driver to deliver an improved lap time during his final Q1 attempt to progress to the next phase. And he managed precisely that in the dying moments to climb to seventh position.
However, officials struck off the time and eliminated Hamilton after ruling he had violated track limits. This resulted in his Q1 exit having also crashed out in the opening phase of sprint qualifying.
Hamilton, 40, had benefited from the chaos last year when then-Mercedes teammate George Russell claimed victory before being stripped of the win when his vehicle came in under-weight. This elevated second-place Hamilton to first on the podium, though he still took time to express solidarity with his former partner despite his moment of glory.
"Mixed feelings for today's result," he posted on social media as he put the squad's achievement first. "Obviously happy to get the win but I feel for George and it's disappointing for the team not to get the one-two.
"A lot of positives to take from today though. At the start of the weekend, we didn't expect to be at the front or the pace we had, so it's great to see just how much progress has been made and that we are in the fight. We take all these positives with us into the break and will come back a stronger team ready to keep the momentum going."
At that point, the surprise boost meant Hamilton secured his second consecutive victory having also topped the podium at Silverstone shortly before. Yet it was clear from his remarks the seasoned driver harboured genuine worries about the team missing out.
Those concerns surfaced again after Ferrari suffered disappointment due to his shortfall at Spa this weekend. Hamilton was swift to offer his apologies to colleagues after failing to deliver as planned.
"Not particularly," he replied when questioned if he was starting to feel settled with Ferrari's latest modifications. "I was the same as I was for the rest of the weekend. We made some changes, the car didn't feel terrible.
"I think it was even tougher for us. We had to put a second set [of soft tyres] on just to get through Q1.
"Then from my side, another mistake, so I've really got to look internally. I've got to apologise to my team, because that's just unacceptable to be out in both Q1s. It's a very, very poor performance from myself."
Hamilton suffered a spin in his SF-25 during the sprint qualifying on Friday, where he managed only the 18th fastest time. The mishap occurred when Hamilton locked his rear tyres and spun, an incident he later referred to as a first in his career, attributed to a new component on his car.
Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc had a much better run, finishing Saturday's qualifying in P3. This places him in a strong position to vie for the team's first win of 2025, while Hamilton's quest for his maiden podium finish in Ferrari colours looks set to continue.
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