Sir Lewis Hamilton says he made a mistake for the ‘first time in my career’ that caused his disastrous sprint qualifying result at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The seven-time Formula 1 champion came into the weekend in good spirits, hopeful that a Ferrari upgrade could revive his fortunes after a difficult start to the season.
Instead, he was eliminated in the first sprint qualifying session on Friday afternoon and will line-up 18th on the grid for Saturday’s short race.
Oscar Piastri will start the sprint on pole ahead of Max Verstappen, championship rival Lando Norris and Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc.
The 40-year-old surprisingly spun at the last corner of the tricky Spa-Francorchamps circuit as he attempted to set a fast lap, causing his early exit.
Asked by Sky Sports for an analysis of what happened, a sullen and crestfallen Hamilton was in little mood to chat, simply replying: ‘I spun.’
Pressedwhether the rear-axle had locked-up, the Brit nodded and owned up to what is a somewhat amateurish mistake, responding: ‘First time I think in my career.’
After 18 years in the sport, there’s little Hamilton hasn’t done but former F1 driver Anthony Davidson doesn’t believe he was actually at fault, telling Sky Sports:’It’s surprising that he’s taken the blame for that.
‘Maybe if he listens back to it again, and by the time he gets back to the data and works it through with the engineers, he might think differently. But at the moment, he’s a bit downtrodden and beating himself up for it.
‘They will clearly see that there was rear locking, and it’s quite hard for a driver to cause that, unless you’ve been a bit careless and thrown your brake bias too far to the rear.
2025 Belgium sprint race starting grid
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- Oliver Bearman (Haas)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Alex Albon (Williams)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
‘There’s very little a driver can do in these digital cars that they drive. They’re not very analogue these days. There’s only so much you can do on a flappy paddle gearbox to make the thing try to lock up.
‘No matter what he says, the car spun him round to a certain degree.’
The good news for Hamilton is that this was only for the sprint, with the main event of the weekend to come, though he doesn’t seem hold much hope that things will improve:
Lewis Hamilton’s full Sky Sports interview after Belgium Sprint qualifying:
Craig Slater: What happened?
Lewis Hamilton: I spun.
CS: Was it a rear lock?
LH: First time I think in my career.
CS: How was car overall?
LH: Not great. There’s not really a lot to say.
CS: Any more driveable with this upgrade?
LH: No.
CS: What about tomorrow?
LH: Tomorrow’s a new day, so we’ll try to… obviously I’m massively frustrated. A lot of work has gone in, and to be there is not really great, so hopefully tomorrow will be better.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
