Hamilton Apologizes To Mercedes After Disastrous Qatar Grand Prix

Monday, 02 December 2024 at 14:04

Lewis Hamilton owned his mistakes after the very unfortunate 2024 Qatar Grand Prix, where he finished in P12 after starting from P6.

The 23rd round of the 2024 season at Lusail International Circuit was the worst race of the season for the Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton.

After qualifying in P6, the seven-time World Champion might have still aimed to finish on the podium, but all his hopes vanished right after the start of the race.

First, the 39-year-old jumped the start as he started rolling before the lights went off. At the same time, he didn't want to gain an advantage, so he slowed down and then lost three positions right on the opening lap, falling from P6 into P9.

In the next 34 laps, Hamilton climbed back into P6, but in the meantime, he received a five-second penalty for the false start, and on lap 34, he suffered a puncture at the start of the lap and had to complete a lap with it which cost him heaps of time.

After coming out of the pits, the Mercedes F1 driver found himself in P16 and already a lap down on the race leader Max Verstappen.

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Before lap 48, the Briton came close to point positions again as he climbed into P11, but he was then hit with a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane under the safety car.

This put Hamilton back into P15. It was then when the seven-time World Champion asked his team if he could retire the car, but was told no as he would carry the drive-through penalty as a five-second penalty into the next race.

The 39-year-old then stayed out on the track and fought until the end. Ultimately, he crossed the finish line in P12. Speaking to Sky Sports after the Grand Prix, he said:

"Even if it finishes like this weekend, I don't think that defines the journey we have been on and the journey we have had but I will give it everything I can."

"It just didn't really go that great but these things happen. Don't judge me by how many times I fall but I'm going to get up tomorrow and give it another go. The car and I don't get along really that well."

"But we were very, very far off in the beginning and we didn't have enough wing in to start with, the cars were quite different and it wasn't really great to drive. But my fault today so apologises to the team for the false start and then the pit-lane incident."

Asked about the upcoming race in Abu Dhabi and whether he can still finish the 2024 season on a high, Lewis Hamilton told the written media in Qatar:

"I mean I don't think we're going to end up on a high. It'll end and I think what's important is how we turn up, we give it our best shot."

"I don't anticipate particularly much better weekend than we've had in the past weekends but naturally I'll try."

"Go in with low hopes and come out with a better result, then great, but it doesn't really make a big difference either way. These last races don't have an impact on everything we've done together."