Glum Lewis Hamilton gives nine-word response to qualifying disaster

Lewis Hamilton’s woeful debut season with Ferrari continued with a disastrous sprint qualifying at the F1 Qatar Grand Prix.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton struggled for pace and was dumped out in SQ1 with a time good enough for only 18th on the grid for Saturday’s final sprint race of the season in Qatar.

Hamilton reported over team radio that his Ferrari “couldn’t go any quicker” as he slumped to another miserable result in qualifying. Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc ended up ninth-fastest.

It marks the second time in as many qualifying sessions that Hamilton has exited in the first segment.

Last time out at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Hamilton suffered the humiliation of qualifying last on outright pace for the first time in his 17-year F1 career as he ended up 20th.

The 40-year-old Briton was once again in a downbeat mood as he conducted his post-session interview through gritted teeth, offering only nine words in response to Sky Sports F1’s Rachel Brooks.

Asked what made his Ferrari so tricky to drive, Hamilton bluntly responded: “Same as always.

Hamilton was then asked if changes he made to the car made any difference, to which he replied with a smile: “No clearly not.”

When asked if there was any positives he can take into tomorrow, Hamilton quipped: “The weather's nice.”

What went wrong for Hamilton?

Assessing Hamilton’s woes, Sky Sports F1’s Bernie Collins said: "It is disappointing to see him so down but he will not be happy with that performance today, so what has gone wrong?

"Is it the changes between P1 and Qualifying? They weren't happy in P1 anyway. Why can that Ferrari work some weeks and not others?"