Hamilton suffers CATASTROPHIC F1 qualifying after early exit
Lewis Hamilton in shock Q1 exit
Lewis Hamilton has failed to make it out of Q1 following a shock exit during qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix.
After a lock up into the final hairpin, Hamilton failed to set a time competitive enough to avoid the drop zone.
READ MORE: F1 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying Results: Hamilton embarrassed as Verstappen dominates
His teammate George Russell made it through to Q2, six tenths ahead of the champion.
It is the first time the British driver has failed to get out of Q1 since the 2022 Saudi Arabia GP, and described the lap as a 'disaster' over team radio.
Hamilton's qualifying nightmare
A lock up in the sprint made him easy pickings for Max Verstappen, who overtook for the lead and managed to create a 13 second gap to the Mercedes.
Guanyu Zhou, Kevin Magnussen, Yuki Tsunoda and Logan Sargeant were also knocked out in Q1.
READ MORE: Hamilton reveals F1 retirement plans
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