Hamilton weighing up pit lane start after ‘demoralising’ Q1 exit at Circuit of The Americas

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AUSTIN, TEXAS - OCTOBER 19: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Great Britain on the grid during the

Three-time Circuit of The Americas pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton was left to rue what he described as a “demoralising” Q1 exit in qualifying for the 2024 United States Grand Prix, with the Mercedes man suggesting he would consider taking a power unit change and resultant pit lane start penalty to try and salvage a result on Sunday.

Earlier on Saturday, Hamilton had reported an issue on his upgraded Mercedes W15 on the formation lap of the Sprint, in which he finished P6.

READ MORE: Norris clinches pole position ahead of Verstappen in Austin as Russell dramatically crashes out in final moments

But the seven-time champion believed that the issue had continued to cause balance problems on his car into qualifying, with Hamilton a shock knock-out in Q1, finishing P19 and out-qualified by his former team mate Valtteri Bottas in a Kick Sauber.

Asked if he was disappointed not to have capitalised on the promising pace he’d shown at points this weekend, Hamilton replied “well I’m P19, so…” before adding: “[The car] was terrible in quali. It’s definitely demoralising.

2024 United States GP Qualifying: Shock in Texas as Hamilton is knocked out in Q1

“In the Sprint we had some sort of failure on the formation lap on the front suspension, and I had that throughout the Sprint race,” Hamilton went on. “That made the balance really difficult. We did change a couple of things, just in the direction of what we would have done yesterday, but the car was a nightmare today in quali… Just a very inconsistent balance, and no grip.”

HIGHLIGHTS: Catch the qualifying action from Austin as Norris takes spectacular pole while Russell crashes out

Looking ahead to Sunday, Hamilton added pragmatically that he may consider changing power unit elements, telling Sky Sports F1: “I should probably start in the pit lane, otherwise I won’t be going anywhere from where I am.”

Mercedes’ pain was added to, meanwhile, when Hamilton’s team mate George Russell crashed out of Q3, leaving him P6 on the grid for Sunday’s race – with Russell having also reportedly damaged the new parts on his Mercedes W15.

Qualifying Highlights: 2024 United States Grand Prix

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