Hamilton reflects on his Q1 mistake: "I've got to do a better job"

Lewis Hamilton will start from the 18th grid spot for the first time in his Mercedes career and vowes to do a "better job" in the Chinese Grand Prix. The seven-time World Champion made a mistake at the hairpin in the third sector during qualifying and lost a lot of time. As a result, he wasn't fast enough to escape Q1 and finds himself at the back of the grid.

The 39-year-old finished second in the sprint race early in the day, and George Russell reached Q3, so Mercedes knew they could do better. Hamilton gave an initial reaction to the mistake immediately after the session on Saturday but has reflected further overnight. 

Hamilton takes it on the chin

"It definitely, easily, should have been Q2, and it was entirely my fault. The team were doing a great job. George did a great job yesterday with what we have. It's made my life difficult," Hamilton said ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.

"In general, in my life, that's how I've always done things. There are no excuses. I've got to do a better job, and I'll try to recover somehow today."

Hamilton will start from P18 and already has one less car behind him. Logan Sargeant will start the race from the pitlane. Yuki Tsunoda will be the only car behind Hamilton at the start of the race. The British driver won the last edition of the Chinese Grand Prix in 2019, but repeating that feat seems almost impossible from 19th on the grid.