Lewis Hamilton “devastated” after shock Q2 exit in first home race for Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton was “super gutted” and “devastated” that he couldn’t make it into Q3 in qualifying at the F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

It was a disappointing qualifying session for Ferrari as neither Hamilton nor Charles Leclerc made it into the pole position shootout.

Leclerc and Hamilton struggled to find time at the end of Q2, leaving them vulnerable.

Carlos Sainz set an impressive lap in the Williams to go fastest, bumping the two Ferraris down the order.

However, the two Aston Martins ultimately eliminated Hamilton and Leclerc.

Aston Martin ran on the medium tyre in qualifying, a decision that allowed Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll to make it into Q3.

Speaking to Sky Sports after qualifying at Imola, Hamilton said: “Tough one. It was a tough one. Ultimately, I feel super gutted, devastated that we weren’t able to get through.

“I really feel like we’ve made so many positive steps through the weekend. The car was generally feeling better. The brakes was better today. The balance was really nice and in Q2, run one, it felt decent.

“When we put the new tyres on, for some reason we just didn’t have any more grip, and didn’t go any faster. You see everyone else they managed to switch the tyres on clearly.

“We definitely need to look into that. It’s devastating to see everyone who’s worked so hard in the garage to be in Italy for the first Italian race for me and Ferrari and not make it into Q3. It’s definitely bitter sweet.”

Lewis Hamilton predicts difficult race: “Hard to progress”

The Imola circuit is notoriously difficult to overtake.

With just one DRS zone, overtaking opportunities are few and far between.

Ferrari did show better race pace in FP2, but given their lowly grid position, it will be difficult for either Hamilton or Leclerc to progress.

“It’s all big ifs,” Hamilton added. “It’s a very difficult track to overtake. I think tomorrow will be hard to progress.

“We will have to battle hard. We have to figure out a way to progress forward.

“Just getting into the top 10 and further up the top 10 will be tough.”