LAS VEGAS — Lewis Hamilton called his first season racing for Ferrari in Formula One “the hardest year” after qualifying last for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Hamilton, a seven-time F1 world champion who finished runner-up in last year’s Las Vegas race, was eliminated in the opening stage of qualifying Friday night as rain made for treacherous driving conditions.
All drivers struggled for grip despite using the dedicated wet compound tire, but it was Hamilton who ended up at the bottom of the timesheets. Although he was forced to abandon one of his late qualifying laps due to a yellow flag in the final corner, he told reporters he doubted it would have made much difference to his qualifying result.
It marked another setback for Hamilton in a difficult year at Ferrari. His debut season for the team looks poised to be the first of his 18-year F1 career without a podium finish.
“Obviously, it feels horrible. It doesn’t feel good,” Hamilton told reporters after qualifying in Las Vegas. “But all I can do is, I’ve just got to let it go by, and try and come back tomorrow. I’ve done everything I could possibly do in terms of preparation, in terms of getting through all the practice sessions.
“Today was feeling amazing. I just didn’t get the lap at the end, but I felt like we were quickest, and then you go and end up qualifying 20th. This year is definitely the hardest year.”
Hamilton, 40, joined Ferrari on a multiyear deal for 2025 after a 12-year association with Mercedes, where he became the most decorated driver in F1 history with seven world titles and 103 race wins.
Ferrari’s car has struggled to match the performance of the title-winning McLaren team and lagged behind rivals Red Bull and Mercedes at times, leaving Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc to struggle to compete at the front regularly.
After Hamilton and Leclerc retired from the last race in Brazil, Ferrari chairman John Elkann told reporters his drivers needed to “focus more and talk less.”
Hamilton responded Wednesday by saying he had a “great relationship” with Elkann, but that he couldn’t focus more on driving.
Hamilton said he felt “really, really excited” for qualifying in Las Vegas after an encouraging final practice session that meant he thought “finally we’d have a good day. But it’s not to be.”
Although he thought Ferrari would have “a really good car” in dry conditions, Hamilton admitted it would be “really, really hard to come back from 20th.”
Hamilton described the wet conditions on the cold Las Vegas track as being “as bad as it gets” for the drivers.
“I couldn’t see anything,” he said. “I think I hit a bollard at one point. I just couldn’t even see the corners.”
