Lewis Hamilton was left with questions after he could not carry his stellar practice pace into qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix.
The 39-year-old topped FP3 in the first dry running of the weekend, but was beaten when it mattered on Saturday once more by team-mate George Russell, who starts Sunday’s race on pole, with Hamilton down in seventh.
The younger Brit set an identical lap time to Max Verstappen, but takes the frontmost grid slot by virtue of having set his time first.
It marked the 26-year-old’s second pole position in F1 and made it 8-1 in Russell’s favour in head-to-head qualifying with Hamilton in 2024.
Lewis Hamilton had looked fast in practice in Canada
But the Mercedes driver could only manage P7 in qualifying
What happened to Lewis Hamilton in Canada qualifying?
Hamilton seemed sure to fight for pole after setting the timing sheets alight in practice, but once again this season he was unable to deliver in qualifying.
The Ferrari-bound driver did not struggle as much as Sergio Perez or both Scuderia drivers, who exited the session in Q1 and Q2 respectively, but ended up nearly three tenths off Russell and Verstappen’s 1:12:000 pole time.
“Firstly, congratulations to George for a great job,” Hamilton told Sky F1’s Rachel Brookes after qualifying.
“It’s really great for the team. Obviously everyone has worked so hard to bring upgrades back at the factory, so this will be a real huge boost for everyone.”
Lewis Hamilton’s practice pace deserted him in qualifying
“The car was feeling great all weekend and as soon as we got to qualifying, that kind of vanished for me.
“The grip just disappears for me. P3 [third practice], I had plenty of pace in me, and then [I] get to qualifying and the tyres won’t work.
“Nothing had changed on the car,” he added.