Lewis Hamilton insisted he is 바카라mentally very strong바카라 after his worst qualifying in nearly seven years which was labelled a 바카라disaster바카라 and 바카라unnecessary바카라 by former rival Nico Rosberg. (More Motorsport News)
Hamilton will line up in 18th position for Sunday바카라s Chinese Grand Prix after his troubled start to the new season took another desperate twist in Shanghai.
Earlier on Saturday, Hamilton rolled back the years to lead the sprint race for eight laps before he had to settle for second after he was overtaken by eventual winner Max Verstappen.
But four hours after a result Hamilton described as his 바카라best in a long time바카라, the 39-year-old was brought crashing back down to earth when he was eliminated in the opening phase of qualifying for Sunday바카라s main event.
The seven-time world champion locked up at the penultimate corner on his speediest lap, and he finished in the Q1 knockout zone, leaving only RB바카라s Yuki Tsunoda and Williams바카라 Logan Sargeant behind him on the grid.
An exasperated Mercedes boss Toto Wolff looked to the heavens after Hamilton바카라s fate was confirmed.
바카라Sorry guys,바카라 reported Hamilton over the radio. He finished eight tenths off the pace and half-a-second behind George Russell in the other Mercedes.
Hamilton last suffered such a lowly grid spot when he crashed out of qualifying in Brazil in 2017.
바카라That is seriously painful,바카라 said Rosberg, who endured a fractious relationship with Hamilton as they duelled for the title.
The German, who eventually beat Hamilton to the championship in 2016 before retiring only days later, added in commentary for Sky Sports: 바카라It was really unnecessary to push the limit and as a seven-time world champion that is a mistake which should be avoidable.
바카라He broke three metres too late, and he had the brake balance too far forward. He lost at least four tenths which easily would have put him in Q2. That바카라s a disaster.바카라
Aside from his strong showing in Saturday바카라s 19-lap dash to the chequered flag 바카라 assisted by his impressive display in Friday바카라s rain-hit qualifying session 바카라 this has been Hamilton바카라s worst-ever start to a season.
The British driver, who is leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari next year, failed to finish inside the top six at the opening four rounds of the campaign. And his bleak result leaves him staring at another underwhelming race.
Addressing Rosberg바카라s remarks, Hamilton said: 바카라It wasn바카라t one of my best qualifying laps. I don바카라t blame anything on the team.
바카라I바카라m very strong mentally. It바카라s not great, it바카라s not a mind-f*** at all. S*** happens, you know.
바카라Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong. This car is on a knife edge so it can easily do what we did.바카라
Mercedes are desperately out of sorts and far removed from the all-conquering team which carried Hamilton to six of his seven record-equalling titles.
Russell will be the lead car when the lights go out for Sunday바카라s 57-lap race. He qualified only eighth.
Over at Red Bull, it was business as usual as Verstappen followed up his convincing sprint win with a fifth straight pole.
The Dutchman, who is on course to take his fourth championship in as many seasons, saw off team-mate Sergio Perez as Red Bull secured a front-row lockout. It also marked the team바카라s 100th pole in F1.
Verstappen finished 0.322 seconds clear of Perez, with Aston Martin바카라s Fernando Alonso third, half-a-second back.
Lando Norris, who dropped from pole to finish a disappointing sixth in the sprint race, qualified fourth, one position ahead of Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished sixth and seventh respectively for Ferrari.
