Lewis Hamilton will start from the very back at the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix after a significant lapse in concentration at the end of Q1. Here’s the sequence of events and why the British driver made the mistake during American qualifying.
There seems to be no respite for Lewis Hamilton, who will start from twentieth position on the grid in Las Vegas following a serious lapse in attention during qualifying that ultimately cost him a place in the next session. Let’s analyze the error made by the seven-time world champion and his comments after yet another disappointing weekend.
The Las Vegas weekend seemed promising
The weekend in Las Vegas initially looked like the perfect opportunity for Lewis Hamilton to deliver a first boost for Ferrari. After a somewhat complicated first day of practice, the British driver appeared to have found the right setup in the final free practice session. However, during qualifying, combined with the tricky wet track conditions, Lewis Hamilton once again failed to put it all together. This sets the stage for an uphill battle in the race, although the Las Vegas Strip has often produced surprises in the past.
Hamilton’s mistake in Q1
First, it’s important to clarify that during his last attempt, Lewis Hamilton was forced to slow down due to a yellow flag. Once he reached the finish line, he still had the opportunity to start a final lap. This is where the error occurred. Crossing the control line approximately one second before the session officially ended, Lewis Hamilton saw the red lights indicating the end of the session. However, these lights are positioned near the starting line and do not dictate the session’s timing, which is measured from the control line. As a result, the seven-time world champion did not push on his final lap, even though his race engineer explicitly told him he could still go for it. This explains the visible frustration of #44.
Hamilton’s own words
“The first set of tyres didn’t work for us. I struggled to generate heat and get them into the right window. The tyres were frozen. I couldn’t put together the lap I needed. On the final lap, it wasn’t a timing mistake. I got a yellow flag in turn 10, and that’s why I couldn’t complete my last lap. It’s very frustrating, obviously. I felt like I did in FP3. The car was going great, and honestly, I thought it would be a fantastic day, but it turned out to be the worst. So I guess it can’t get any worse than this,” Lewis Hamilton told Sky Sport F1, showing that he wasn’t yet aware of the precise error he had made.
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