Lewis Hamilton F1 News: Mercedes star issues HORROR prediction for Dutch Grand Prix

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Hamilton issues HORROR prediction for Dutch Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in Q2 at the Dutch GP

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 25 August 2024 08:57 Updated: 21:34

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Lewis Hamilton has delivered a gloomy prediction for the Dutch Grand Prix after a frustrating qualifying session for the F1 champion.

The 39-year-old has experienced a season of mixed fortunes, with Mercedes struggling for pace at the start of the season.

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Hamilton went as far as to describe the 2024 season as his ‘worst ever’ start, as the Brit appeared downcast following most sessions.

Since introducing upgrades, Mercedes’ performances have improved, with George Russell claiming a victory in Austria, and Hamilton securing wins at Silverstone and Spa.

Lewis Hamilton struggled to compete against his team-mate George Russell earlier in the season

Mercedes have achieved three race victories this season

Hamilton woes in Zandvoort

Despite heading into the summer break on a high, Hamilton has endured a nightmare start to his Dutch GP weekend.

The champion was placed under investigation by the stewards for impeding Sergio Perez in qualifying, and his performance only worsened from there.

Hamilton was unable to set a faster time in Q2 which saw him knocked out of the session, and due to start Sunday's race in P12.

A three-place grid penalty then demoted him down to P15, before Alex Albon's disqualification restored a place to see him line up in P14 for lights out.

After qualifying, the seven-time champion did not hold out much hope for the race, as he gave a gloomy prediction for the grand prix.

Lewis Hamilton believes a top 10 finish will be a 'struggle' in Zandvoort

"We will struggle to get into the top 10," Hamilton said to select media including GPFans.

“There was lots of understeer so we will try to dial that out.”

Hamilton appeared additionally frustrated in an interview with Sky Sports, where he pinpointed the Perez incident as the reason for the difficult session.

"It was a pretty frustrating session. These things happen and it's done now but it doesn't feel good,” he added.

"It all went badly from the moment with Perez happened. I did my best to get out of the way, I was as far to the left as possible, but timing was bad.

"It was a domino effect, it went from bad to worse."