HAMILTON EXPLAINS F1 SHOCK EXIT
Hamilton’s shock Q1 exit at the US Grand Prix: suspension problems to blame as Mercedes driver struggles after sprint race damage compromises performance – Lewis Hamilton’s Formula One struggles continued at the 2024 United States Grand Prix as the seven-time world champion suffered a shock early exit in the first qualifying session (Q1).The Mercedes driver was eliminated after an uncharacteristically slow performance, leaving him 19th on the grid for Sunday’s race. The incident marked his worst qualifying result of the season and was due to complications from a damaged front suspension, a problem Hamilton first encountered in the sprint race earlier in the weekend. Disappointing performance in Q1Hamilton’s weekend at the Circuit of the Americas appeared to take an unexpected turn for the worse as he was eliminated in Q1 for the first time since the 2023 Chinese Grand Prix. Starting the session with hopes of building momentum, Hamilton struggled to put together a competitive lap.While he was slightly off the pace in the first sector, things began to unravel as he approached Turn 12 at the end of the back straight. In what appeared to be a braking error, Hamilton found himself running wide and struggling for control as the car oversteered on the exit.The misstep proved costly as the mistake cost him half a second in the second sector to Mercedes teammate George Russell. With other drivers improving their lap times towards the end of the session, Hamilton was unable to make up the time he needed and found himself stranded in 19th place.He finished less than a tenth of a second ahead of Sauber’s Guanyu Zhou, sealing an unexpected and dismal qualifying result.
