F1 News Today: Hamilton’s Struggles Persist in Jeddah After Chaotic Q….readmore
Lewis Hamilton endured another difficult day at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as his struggles continued during Saturday’s qualifying session. The seven-time world champion was left trailing nearly a second behind the frontrunners, further deepening what has been a challenging weekend in Jeddah.
Hamilton, who has voiced discomfort with the car’s performance throughout the weekend, failed to find the pace needed to compete at the front. Despite extensive setup changes, the Briton could only manage a time that left him well adrift of teammate George Russell and the top qualifiers. His seventh-place grid spot highlights the ongoing difficulties he and his team are facing in extracting maximum performance from the car on the high-speed street circuit.
The qualifying session itself was marred by drama late on when a high-speed crash involving McLaren’s Lando Norris brought out the red flags. Norris lost control of his car at Turn 5 after clipping the kerb, sending him into the barriers. Thankfully, he emerged unscathed, but the incident disrupted several drivers’ final flying laps, including Hamilton, who was looking to improve his time.
At the front of the grid, Max Verstappen continued his dominant form by snatching pole position with a lap time of 1:27.294. The Red Bull driver narrowly beat McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who missed out by just 0.01 seconds. Russell put in a strong performance to secure third, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in fourth. Meanwhile, Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli impressed with a fifth-place qualifying result, continuing to raise eyebrows with his rapid adaptation to Formula 1.
In addition to his on-track challenges, Hamilton also attracted the attention of the race stewards earlier in the day. He was investigated for two separate incidents during final practice. Although he was cleared of ignoring double yellow flags due to a technical issue with the light system, he received a reprimand for impeding another driver. Mercedes was also fined €25,000 for the incident involving Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg.
As Hamilton prepares for Sunday’s race, he faces an uphill battle not only to contend with the quick pace of rivals like Verstappen and Piastri but also to find confidence in a car that has so far proven difficult to handle on Jeddah’s unforgiving layout. The Grand Prix kicks off at 6:00 PM UK time, with all eyes on whether Hamilton can turn things around.
