Lewis Hamilton’s sweary reaction to his nightmare qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix led to broadcasters apologising for his bad language.
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion actually finished second in Saturday morning’s sprint race, but it was a return to form for Mercedes in the following qualifying session as their struggles continued.
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Hamilton, who is leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari next year, was eliminated in the first round of quali at the Shanghai International Circuit, which saw grass fires interrupt the practise sessions on Friday.
It means he will start Sunday’s race all the way back in 18th – with only Yuki Tsunoda and Logan Sargeant behind him.
Meanwhile, Mercedes teammate George Russell was out in the second round of qualifying and will start eighth in the grid, with Vax Verstappen and Sergio Perez to start in first and second, respectively, for Red Bull.
It was Hamilton’s worst performance in qualifying in almost seven years, with former Mercedes teammate and rival Nico Rosberg branding it a ‘disaster’.
And the 39-year-old could not hide his frustration when interviewed by Sky Sports after coming back into the paddock.
“I just struggled – it is what it is,” said the F1 great. “This morning, George [Russell] and I had very similar cars but this afternoon, we are trying to experiment still with car.
“So I went one way, a long way, and he went the other way, just to see if we could find anything.
“But yeah, it didn’t work. I’ll give it my best shot – 18th is pretty bad.
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“When I was making the setup changes I was like ‘it can’t get any worse, surely’… and it did.
“S**t happens.”
F1 commentator David Croft immediately apologised to viewers for his bad language.
It came as a surprise, having rolled back the years earlier on Saturday to lead the sprint race for eight laps.
He eventually had to settle for second place after being overtaken by eventual winner Verstappen, but was happy with the result which banked him a much-needed seven points.
“That’s the best result I’ve had in a long time so I am super-happy and grateful, this is a huge step and improvement,” said the Brit.
“The race was tough and if I was further back I would have struggled to progress, I found a lot about this car through this short stint so I am excited about tomorrow.”
However, four hours later it all went to pot as Hamilton was brought back down to earth with a rather nasty bump – and Rosberg pulled no punches in his assessment of qualifying, which was the Mercedes driver’s worst since crashing out of qualifying in Brazil in 2017.
“That is seriously painful,” said Rosberg, who beat teammate Hamilton to the championship in 2016 before retiring.
“It was really unnecessary to push the limit and as a seven-time world champion that is a mistake which should be avoidable.
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“He 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. That’s a disaster.”
Aside from second place in the sprint in Shanghai, this has been Hamilton’s worst start to an F1 season in his career.
Responding to Rosberg’s comments, he said: “It wasn’t one of my best qualifying laps. I don’t blame anything on the team.
“I’m very strong mentally. It’s not great, it’s not a mind-f*** at all. S*** happens, you know.
“Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong. This car is on a knife edge so it can easily do what we did.”
Elsewhere, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso will start Sunday’s race in third, while McLaren’s Lando Norris will line up on the grid in fourth, having dropped from pole position to a disappointing sixth place in the sprint race.
Chinese Grand Prix qualifying results:
- Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1min 33.660secs
- Sergio Perez (Mex) Red Bull 1:33.982
- Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:34.148
- Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:34.165
- Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1:34.273
- Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:34.289
- Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spa) Ferrari 1:34.297
- George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:34.433
- Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Haas F1 1:34.604
- Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Kick Sauber 1:34.665
- Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:34.838
- Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) RB 1:34.934
- Esteban Ocon (Fra) Alpine 1:35.223
- Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:35.241
- Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:35.463
- Guanyu Zhou (Chn) Kick Sauber 1:35.505
- Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:35.516
- Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:35.573
- Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) RB 1:35.746
- Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams 1:36.358
Source: TalkSport.com Motorsport
