Lewis Hamilton dumped OUT of Abu Dhabi qualifying by Mercedes team-mate

Lewis Hamilton during press conference in Brazil — Photo: © LAT Images

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Hamilton dumped OUT of Abu Dhabi qualifying by Mercedes team-mate

The five-time pole sitter will start in P11 on Sunday

Edward Hardy

Saturday 25 November 2023 16:37 Updated: 19:32

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Lewis Hamilton suffered a disappointing performance in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, getting knocked out in Q2 after a tricky outing around the circuit.

The seven-time world champion was eliminated from qualifying by his own teammate in the closing seconds of the session, as George Russell leapt up to P4 and pushed Hamilton into P11.

Having secured pole on five previous occasions in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton was clearly frustrated by his lacklustre outing.

George Russell's success came at the expense of his teammate.

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Speaking to his team over the radio on his in lap, Hamilton said: "There’s something not right with this car.”

Hamilton will have to settle with a P11 start, finding himself 0.619 seconds down from initial pole sitter Max Verstappen in Q2.

When asked after the session what was wrong, Hamilton explained he was “just struggling with balance.”

“I don’t have any answers. At this point, it is what it is.

“There’s something not right. I’m sure we’ll dive into it.”

Sky Sports reported after the session that Mercedes had disassembled Hamilton’s car to examine what could have caused his performance difficulties.

It was the second shock of the session after Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was eliminated in Q1, lining up on Sunday in P16.

Sainz blamed his poor performance on traffic, accusing his rivals of intentionally slowing him down during his fast lap.

Carlos Sainz was frustrated after being knocked out in Q1.

F1 Qualifying Results: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2023

Q3 results

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 4. George Russell (Mercedes) 5. Lando Norris (McLaren) 6. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) 7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 8. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) 9. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)