Hamilton Out in Q2: Leclerc Crashes and Shocks in Qualifying

Hamilton, surprisingly out of Q2 in a Chaotic Qualifying

A drama-filled qualifying session left Lewis Hamilton out of Q2, while his teammate, Charles Leclerc, suffered an accident. The extended Saturday session was interrupted six times with a red flag, due to incidents involving Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto, and the championship leader, Oscar Piastri. The seven-time world champion, Hamilton, will start from 12th position on the grid. His best lap in Q2 placed him in tenth place, but Leclerc’s fastest time relegated him. Leclerc advanced to the final qualifying session, but crashed into the barriers at Turn 15 on his first attempt for pole position, seven minutes from the end.

“Obviously, I’m very disappointed,” Hamilton told Sky Sports. “Yesterday the car felt good, today we took a direction that, on paper, seemed to be the best for us.”

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton went on to explain that the car’s pace had been good and that he felt “really fit”, without making mistakes. However, the choice of tires at the end was not the right one.

“It’s difficult. Everyone in front of me basically had the medium tire, but I lost a medium tire in P2 due to the race program, and that put me at a disadvantage”, he added.

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton, who will start behind Fernando Alonso, added that there have been many positives this weekend, and that he felt “really fit.” He confessed that he had hoped to fight for pole position, so it was a surprise.

For his part, Leclerc commented that he never felt comfortable with the car on a track where he usually excels.

“I’ve been struggling a lot, and I come to Baku, and everything flows quite naturally, and this year was not the case. I don’t think I understand why,” said Leclerc.

Charles Leclerc

Leclerc reported that he made many changes to the car to try to modify the feeling in qualifying, and that the situation improved until they put on the medium tires.

“It was very, very difficult from the moment we put the medium on. For some reason, yesterday it seemed like the best tire on our car. Today we felt like we could never hit the right window of the tires and that made it very complicated”, he finished.

Charles Leclerc