Hamilton shrugs off Q1 knockout in China: "Sh*t happens"

Lewis Hamilton was knocked out of Q1 for the Chinese Grand Prix. After the sprint race, Hamilton explained what went wrong for him around the Shanghai International Circuit and suggested he opted for a different car setup than George Russell. Hamilton finished that sprint race in second place.

What went wrong for Hamilton?

"I couldn't get the car to stop in turn 14," Hamilton told Sky Sports as he reflected on a lock-up in the final sector. Hamilton lost around six-tenths to his teammate Russell in this sector alone, which is why he was knocked out of the session. Hamilton explained the changes made to the car during the break from the sprint race and qualifying.  

"This morning, George and I had very similar cars, but this afternoon, we're trying to experiment with the car. So I went one way and then he went the other way, just to see if we could find anything. That's what we need to do at the moment. But it didn't work. I'll give it my best shot. 18th is pretty bad. But when I made the set-up changes because I was like, 'it can't get worse, surely'. And it did. Sh*t happens," Hamilton concluded.

Hamilton had to watch the rest of the qualifying session on the sidelines. It will be very difficult for the Mercedes driver to catch up and make gains during the Chinese Grand Prix, but the seven-time world champion will give it is all.