Lewis Hamilton shuts down ‘mental problem’ theory after shock COTA Q1 exit

Lewis Hamilton was having none of the idea that he is hitting a mental block after falling at the Q1 stage in US Grand Prix qualifying.

Hamilton suffered a costly wide moment at Turn 12 on his final Q1 lap attempt, the Mercedes driver losing that time to a tracks limits violation as his elimination was confirmed, leaving Hamilton facing a start from the penultimate row at the Circuit of The Americas.

No ‘mental problem’ at play for Lewis Hamilton

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

Speaking to the media, including PlanetF1.com, after qualifying, Hamilton reflected on a “pretty terrible” day, revealing how that started already in the Sprint race which he finished P6.

“The car felt great yesterday, so obviously came really optimistic for today, and something failed on the front suspension, literally as we pulled away from the line for the formation lap,” he continued.

“And I had that through the race, so they figured that out, they changed the corner, and just felt like a mess.”

Asked if that is a result of the F1 Sprint weekend format, where teams just have the one hour of practice to get dialled in, Hamilton replied: “I don’t know what the reason is. This shouldn’t happen, and it’s obviously not planned.”

Qualifying performance has been an area of frustration for Hamilton at various times in F1 2024, this his second Q1 exit of the season to go with China.

So, Hamilton was asked whether this all comes down to performance, or whether he has in fact also hit a mental block with his one-lap endeavours?

“Well, I mean, I was about to qualify on pole yesterday, so it’s not a mental problem,” he responded, in reference to the yellow flags which emerged on his final flying lap in the Sprint Shootout.

“When the suspension is failing or breaking and things aren’t coming together… I mean today, honestly I can’t… You’ll have to ask the team, I haven’t got the suspension, but I know the guys are working as hard as they can. They did the change.”

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And as for what is possible on Sunday from P18 on the grid, Hamilton replied: “Not a lot, probably.”

On that note, Hamilton believes his best chance of making progress would be to make setup changes to the W15 and give up his grid slot.

“I think we should probably start from the pit-lane,” Hamilton proposed when speaking to Sky F1 , “otherwise I won’t be going anywhere from where I am.”

Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell will launch from P6, having crashed out at Turn 19 on his final Q3 run.

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