Hamilton OUT at Australian Grand Prix as Mercedes misery continues

Lewis Hamilton failed to make it out of the second part of qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix.

The seven-time champion's pace during FP3 earlier on Saturday had led to suggestions that he and team-mate George Russell could challenge for pole position.

READ MORE: Mercedes DAMAGE Hamilton hopes after key F1 moves

However, their pace throughout qualifying had seemingly been lost, and Hamilton could only put in a time good enough for ninth, before being pushed down into 11th by great laps from Yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll.

It means that Hamilton has been out-qualified by Russell in every qualifying session so far in 2024.

Hamilton's miserable season goes on

Hamilton's season has started in poor fashion, with the Brit sitting down in ninth in the drivers' championship, and failing to make any real impression in any qualifying or race session so far.

It was suggested by former Formula 1 race winner David Coulthard that Hamilton had mentally checked out of his final season at Mercedes, knowing what's to come.

The 39-year-old will join Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season, in a last-ditch attempt to claim a record-breaking eighth world championship title.

If Hamilton is excited about that move to Maranello, he is likely to be buoyed to see Ferrari being Red Bull's closest challengers throughout the three race weekends so far in 2024.

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