Lewis Hamilton hit by bollard and bad luck in Abu Dhabi F1 qualifying

Mercedes driver will start 18th on the grid at Yas Marina on Sundayt

McLaren driver Lando Norris secured pole position in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit, on December 7, 2024. Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Pole position winner Lando Norris, centre, with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri who will start in second and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz in third. AFP

McLaren driver Lando Norris after securing pole position at the Yas Marina Circuit. AFP

Red Bull's Sergio Perez will start third on the grid in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Red Bull driver and world champion Max Verstappen will start fifth at the Yas Marina Circuit. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez during qualifying. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Mercedes driver George Russell will start seventh on the grid. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton will start in 18th. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton arrives at the Yas Marina Circuit. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Williams driver Alexander Albon poses for a selfie ahead of qualifying. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Fans watch the final practice session at Yas Marina Circuit. Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National

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Lewis Hamilton’s final qualifying session with Mercedes was struck by bad luck as the British driver failed to make it out of Q1 due to a bollard that got stuck under his car at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion admits it was an “unfortunate” incident but is looking forward to doing some overtaking in Sunday’s season finale at Yas Marina Circuit, where he will start in P18 on the grid.

“I don’t feel the pain in the teeth as such,” said Hamilton, who will end his 12-year chapter with Mercedes this weekend before he moves to Ferrari for 2025.

“For me, I’ve just been very present, been enjoying every moment, I’ve got the car in a really good place. The set-up changes we’ve been making – the car has been completely different to the last five races. It’s been feeling really great, so it is unfortunate.”

Hamilton admits he believed he would be fighting for a podium in Abu Dhabi this weekend but must now readjust his expectations.

“The pace was decent. It’s not going to be easy to overtake tomorrow but we’ll work on strategy now and instead of fighting for a podium, I’ll see how far I can go – if I can get into the top 10 that will be amazing,” he added.

Hamilton told reporters in the UAE capital on Thursday that he underestimated how emotional his final season with Mercedes would be and the 39-year-old confessed he mishandled those emotions at times throughout the year.

Now that he is one day away from bidding farewell to the Silver Arrows, will it be a sense of relief come Monday morning?

“It would be like, I made it, I survived a very, very hardcore year. I think I would be sad not to be racing any more this year, but next year will come soon enough,” he said. “Hope to get some overtaking moves tomorrow.”

Besides wanting to make the most of his last weekend with Mercedes, Hamilton also made time for what has recently become an annual tradition: a dinner in Abu Dhabi with all the drivers on the grid.

What started as an opportunity to honour Sebastian Vettel, when he was retiring at the end of 2022, has now become a yearly get-together, gathering all 20 drivers at one dinner table.

“I’m really, really happy that we’ve been doing that,” said Hamilton.

“When I asked the guys to get together for Seb’s evening, that was truly special, and then we had the best time so we set it up each year and we’ve had a great time.

“It was really funny obviously with George [and Max Verstappen) but it was all light-hearted,” added the Brit, referring to the feud brewing between his teammate George Russell and Red Bull’s world champion, who both made it to the dinner but sat on opposite sides of the table.

Lando Norris took pole position for the season-ending race in a McLaren one-two with Oscar Piastri with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz third.