Hamilton feeling ‘a lot of anger’ after painful Q1 exit in Abu Dhabi

Lewis Hamilton’s final qualifying session of 2025 ended on yet another bleak note under the Yas Marina floodlights, the seven-time world champion confessing to “a lot of anger” after being knocked out in Q1 for the fourth race weekend in a row.

For a driver accustomed to fighting at the front, the continual slide has become a bitter punctuation mark on what he himself has described as his most difficult Formula 1 campaign to date.

Hamilton’s preparations were already compromised before qualifying. Ferrari handed his car to Arthur Leclerc for FP1 to meet rookie running rules, leaving the Briton with one fewer session to settle into the rhythm of a circuit that punishes the smallest lack of confidence.

His crash in final practice only deepened the frustration.

“Just had some bottoming and then lost the back end,” he said after losing it at Turn 9 in FP3. “[The team] saw some bouncing going in and they said that carried all the way through.”

The impact didn’t help matters. Nor did the missed running, admitted the seven-time world champion.

“It definitely doesn't help when you have missed your second run.” As for losing FP1 to rookie mileage, he was blunt: “Never helpful… everyone’s in the same boat.”

Another Exit, Another Blow

In qualifying, Hamilton fell just 0.008s shy of reaching Q2, resigning him to 16th on the grid. For a driver who once defined dominance, the statistics now make grim reading: four consecutive Q1 exits, including sprint qualifying in Qatar.

Mention that streak to the Scuderia charger, and the frustration surfaces raw.

“I don't have the words to express how I feel, just a lot of anger,” he said.

Ferrari’s slump has only compounded things. While Charles Leclerc has managed to extract flashes of performance from the erratic SF-25, Hamilton’s final races have looked more like damage limitation –never the aim of a signing that once promised a blockbuster move.

Asked about his prospects for Sunday’s race from 16th on thegrid, Hamilton shrugged off any talk of late-season heroics.

“There’s not a lot you can do,” he said. When it was suggested he might “shove the hards on, go a long way and see what happens,” Hamilton replied with weary resignation: “It's the same thing every weekend for me, so give it a shot.”

• Read also: Hamilton won't miss current F1 cars - but fears 2026 'might be worse'

Even the looming winter break offered little solace. “It’s the shortest break,” he said. “Time will tell.”

For Hamilton, Abu Dhabi was not a last chance to salvage pride – just another reminder of how far this season has drifted from the one he expected to have.

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