Lewis Hamilton KNOCKED OUT by track furniture in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix shocker

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Abu Dhabi, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying

Hamilton KNOCKED OUT by track furniture in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix shocker

Lewis Hamilton has received a nightmare end to his time at Mercedes

Originally written by Sheona Mountford. This version is a translation.

Saturday 7 December 2024 16:43

Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in the first part of qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday, after a bizarre moment ruined his session.

The outgoing Mercedes star will start P17 on Sunday in his late race for the team, having qualified 18th but being boosted by Charles Leclerc's 10-place penalty.

However, it appeared that his Mercedes was blighted by a bizarre issue, after he hit a bollard out on track.

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Kevin Magnussen tried to get out of the way of Hamilton, but ran off and knocked the bollard into the path of the Mercedes star, with the object getting trapped underneath the Brit's W15.

Lewis Hamilton will not enjoy the dream end to his Mercedes campaign

Lewis Hamilton knocked out in Q1

"I messed that lap up big time guys!" Hamilton said via team radio as Toto Wolff delivered a frustrated reaction back in the garage.

Hamilton's team-mate George Russell managed to make it into Q2, marking the 19th occasion the Brit has outqualified his older team-mate this season.

The 39-year-old made a damming assessment of his qualifying abilities in Qatar, where he claimed he was 'no longer fast' after his team-mate managed a front row start.

Mercedes and Hamilton will not have wanted their final race together to end this way, and the champion will have to undergo a herculean effort to recover back into the top ten on Sunday.

"Just my luck, but it's ok," Hamilton said to Sky Sports after qualifying.

"We tried so hard with the set-up, we got the car in a great place, and it was looking good in P3 so I was really thinking 'maybe a podium is possible this weekend'.

"Then the timing was not optimised with the session because I was the last one on the track and obviously I ended up behind one of the Alpines right at the end, so I just ran out of time."

Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Charles Leclerc Toto Wolff Kevin Magnussen