Hamilton suffers qualifying DISASTER at the Dutch Grand Prix

Hamilton, Mercedes, 2023, Nederland — Photo: © LAT Images

Dutch Grand Prix

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Hamilton suffers qualifying DISASTER at the Dutch Grand Prix

The British driver unexpectedly failed to make it through to Q3

Luis Raya

Saturday 26 August 2023 15:49 Updated: 22:49

Lewis Hamilton missed out on Q3 at the Dutch Grand Prix after unexpectedly falling short in Q2.

The British driver wasn't able to find enough pace on the track and could only manage 13th place, missing out on Q3 by just 0.084 seconds.

In a session with very challenging conditions, as the wet track was drying, many drivers experienced off-track excursions and had laps invalidated due to mistakes. Hamilton, on his final attempt, wasn't quick enough, failing to make it to Q3 for the second time this season – the other instance being the Miami Grand Prix.

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After the session, Hamilton said, "s***" happens, I'll give it my best shot tomorrow," already setting his focus on the race and aiming to make a significant comeback.

Former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde put it best: "Dramatic, dramatic, who had expected this? I didn't at least! He struggled this morning, had a tough time, but just now he was just too slow and that caused his elimination," said the Dutchman on Viaplay.

Ho-pin Tung, on the other hand, said: "This was just really badly timed, That's what it's all about, that you cross the finish line last. It was just really poorly timed, his battery was empty. You lose a lot that way."

Mercedes believes its strength will be in the race

While Lewis Hamilton missed out on Q3, George Russell did make it through to the next session. Already on Friday, team boss Toto Wolff commented that they were pinning their hopes on the race, rather than qualifying, where he believes they will have more pace.

Last year, the Silver Arrows showed an improvement in performance on Sunday compared to Saturday, with Russell finishing in second place while Hamilton secured 4th. In qualifying, Hamilton was 4th and Russell 6th, leading Wolff to speculate that a similar scenario might unfold this year.