Lewis Hamilton has delivered a brutally honest verdict on his sprint qualifying performance at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Coming into this weekend, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion was looking to build on an impressive performance in Barcelona, where he came home third to secure his first podium finish of the campaign.
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It was a rare highlight in what has largely been a season of disappointments for the Brit so far, and hopes were high coming into the weekend at the Red Bull Ring that he and his team may have turned a corner.
Despite a promising showing in free practice, Hamilton had his lap deleted at the start of SQ1, with an early elimination from proceedings a possibility at that stage.
The 39-year-old recovered to make it through to SQ3, but could only finish P6 as he struggled to match the pace of his rivals.
Lewis Hamilton’s sprint qualifying assessment
Hamilton was almost six-tenths shy of reigning world champion Max Verstappen who will start Saturday’s F1 sprint at the front of the grid, ahead of McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the session, Hamilton cut a dejected figure after failing to deliver a quick time when it mattered most.
“I wasn’t in the mix at all, the whole session was pretty disastrous from our point of view,” the Mercedes star brutally reflected.
“Practice was good, the car felt good, I don’t think we had the pace to be on pole, but very bad laps.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s sprint, Hamilton was not expecting to make much progress in terms of moving forward.
“I don’t think overtaking is mega here, but we’ll give our best,” he added.
“It’s usually not such an eventful race, so I think the focus will be mostly on getting a better qualifying tomorrow.”
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