Lewis Hamilton eliminated in Q1 as Belgian GP weekend goes from bad to worse
Lewis Hamilton continues to struggle at Spa.
Lewis Hamilton has been eliminated in the opening segment of qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix and will start Sunday’s race from 16th on the grid.
Hamilton was in the danger zone as the clock ticked down to zero in Q1, but a late lap initially moved him up to seventh, just behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.
However, shortly after the session ended, the stewards deleted his time for exceeding track limits at Raidillon, dropping him out of the top 15 and ending his qualifying run.
The Briton missed out on Q2 by just 0.031s, edged out by Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto.
Although Hamilton had failed to reach Q2 in Miami and Imola earlier this year, this marked the first time he’s been knocked out in Q1 as a Ferrari F1 driver.
The setback compounds a miserable weekend for the seven-time world champion, who also failed to escape SQ1 on Friday after spinning at the Bus Stop Chicane. He went on to finish Saturday’s sprint race in 15th, over 30 seconds behind winner Max Verstappen.
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Rachit joined the Crash.net team in 2025 with a primary focus on F1 and sportscar racing.
He previously served as a news editor at Motorsport.com, where he played a key role in the day-to-day editorial operations.
