Lewis Hamilton has 'no words' after qualifying dead last for the F1 Las Vegas GP

Lewis Hamilton was visibly downbeat after a disappointing qualifying session for the 2025 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. The seven-time F1 champion qualified dead last in Q1, while Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc was over two seconds quicker and comfortably made it through to Q2.

The qualifying session promised chaos, as the drivers took to the low-grip track in wet conditions for the first time this weekend. Hamilton fell victim to some miscommunication from the pit wall and also couldn't get the wet tires in the right window.

Ferrari wanted him to keep pushing after a fast lap because he couldn't make it out of the bottom five. However, Lewis Hamilton seemingly didn't get the call in time, and he had slowed down after finishing his final fast lap with a time of 1:57.115, the slowest of all.

In a post-qualifying interview with F1TV's Lawrence Barretto, Hamilton tried to explain his plight, saying:

"I don't really have words for it. It's obviously not good enough. I just couldn't get temperature into the tyres. I had a lot of understeer, and I think one of my front brakes was glazed, so I was really struggling to stop it in the corners."

Lewis Hamilton will start the 50-lap Las Vegas GP on Sunday from P20, unless any other rival starts from the pit lane after making overnight changes under parc ferme. It is the first time since the 2017 Brazilian GP that the Briton will start dead last.

Lewis Hamilton reflects on 'hardest' career year with Ferrari after Las Vegas qualifying disaster

Lewis Hamilton gives interviews after the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Qualifying - Source: Getty

After the Brazilian GP two weeks ago, Lewis Hamilton had termed his Ferrari stint a "nightmare" on the performance side. In the aftermath of that weekend, Ferrari chairman John Elkann compared his F1 squad to the championship-winning WEC squad, asking the F1 drivers to 'talk less and focus on driving'.

In response to those comments, Hamilton promised that he was fully committed to elevating his and the team's performance. Unfortunately, his misfortune on the first opportunity since that controversy fell flat.

"I felt like we were quickest, and then you come out of qualifying 20th," Hamilton said via The Race. "This year's definitely the hardest year."

Charles Leclerc made it to Q3 but could only manage to qualify in P9. The Monegasque had major issues in Turn 14 on most of his runs and found himself in the runoff quite often. A temporary engine issue in Q1 also derailed a run, but he managed to overcome the issue.

Lando Norris clinched pole position for the Las Vegas GP, which will be his 150th career race. Max Verstappen will start beside him on the front row, with a surprise entrant in the Top 3 in Carlos Sainz.

Edited by Yash Kotak