Lewis Hamilton’s latest ordeal in Las Vegas unfolded like a cruel twist in a season already defined by frustration, with the seven-time champion qualifying dead last in conditions that exposed every flaw in Ferrari’s wet-weather package. What should have been a straightforward Q1 run instead became a bewildering collapse in performance, leaving Hamilton starting Sunday’s Grand Prix from the very back of the grid — a first in his nearly two-decade-long Formula One career. His struggles since joining Ferrari manifested once again as he trailed Charles Leclerc by a staggering margin, an unthinkable gap for a driver of his calibre.
The session quickly spiraled into a display of uncertainty and discomfort for Hamilton, who fought persistent understeer and failed to generate any meaningful tyre temperature on the drenched Las Vegas circuit. Despite showing respectable pace in earlier practice sessions, the confidence evaporated almost instantly once qualifying began. The contrast between last year’s podium-worthy speed and this season’s bewildering pace deficit was stark, emphasizing just how far the Ferrari package has fallen short in tricky conditions.
Adding another twist to the narrative, Sky Sports analyst Anthony Davidson flagged a subtle but telling incident: Hamilton clipping a bollard during his warm-up lap. The minor impact, barely noticed live, may have lodged debris under the car and compromised his performance. Davidson speculated that such an obstruction could easily destroy balance, disrupt airflow, and undermine the Ferrari’s already fragile grip — a theory that aligned all too well with Hamilton’s disastrously slow laps.
Hamilton’s post-session comments were brief and bleak, noting simply that visibility was minimal, offering no further insight into whether the bollard incident factored into the collapse. For a driver accustomed to transcending adversity, this season has been uncharacteristically unforgiving. Winless in main Grands Prix, forced into retirement in Brazil, and now qualifying dead last in Las Vegas, the campaign has tested his patience and resilience in unprecedented ways.
As the season winds toward its conclusion, Hamilton openly admitted that the situation “can’t get much worse,” a rare admission from a competitor defined by optimism and resolve. While fans continue to hope for a late-season resurgence, reality paints a harsher picture: this has become one of the most turbulent chapters of Hamilton’s storied career, a year where even his brilliance can’t mask the constant misfires of Ferrari’s machinery.
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