‘I’ve got to apologise to my team’ – Hamilton concedes it’s ‘unacceptable’ to be out in both Q1s in Belgium

Lewis Hamilton conceded his early qualifying exits at the Belgian Grand Prix are "unacceptable" as he insisted he would apologise to his Ferrari team.

The seven-time Formula 1 champion will start Sunday’s Grand Prix from 16th on the grid after a track limits violation on his final Q1 run resulted in his time being deleted, seeing him eliminated at the first hurdle. This came after a similarly disappointing Sprint Qualifying, where he had managed only the 18th fastest time to exit in SQ1.

In that Friday session, he had locked his rear tyres and spun – an error Hamilton described as a career first and later said was affected by a new component on his Ferrari.

Following his latest Qualifying disappointment on Saturday, when asked if he was beginning to feel more comfortable with the changes, Hamilton told Sky Sports F1: “Not particularly. I was the same as I was for the rest of the weekend. We made some changes, the car didn’t feel terrible. I think it was even tougher for us. We had to put a second set [of soft tyres] on just to get through Q1.

“Then from my side, another mistake, so I’ve really got to look internally. I’ve got to apologise to my team, because that’s just unacceptable to be out in both Q1s. It’s a very, very poor performance from myself.”

Compounding Hamilton’s difficulties is the impressive weekend being enjoyed by team mate Charles Leclerc, who qualified fourth for the Sprint, and third for the Grand Prix.

He added: “It’s incredibly painful. It’s turning out to be a pretty bad weekend so far.”

With rain expected to fall on Sunday, there is at least a chance for a clever strategy to change a driver’s fortune, something highlighted by Nico Hulkenberg at Silverstone last time out as the Sauber driver claimed a stunning podium.

But even this prospect did little to lift Hamilton’s spirits. He said: “Anything can happen here. I don’t know. I have no clue about tomorrow. It’s going to be very hard from where I am, so definitely a weekend to forget.”

Looking to what the remainder of the season could bring, Hamilton conceded: “I mean, we’re trying to do the best with what we have, and then everyone is working flat out back at the factory.

"We have had upgrades, but I think that’s probably it for the year, and the focus is now on next year’s car. This season has been a tricky one.”