Lewis Hamilton: It can't get any worse

      Lewis Hamilton set the twentieth time in qualifying for the Las Vegas Grand Prix – for the first time in his 19-year Formula 1 career the seven-time world champion was last in qualifying on outright pace. For Ferrari this is the first time since the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that one of its drivers has posted the slowest qualifying time.

      “I simply have no words for all of this,” Lewis Hamilton commented on the qualifying result. “Obviously, the result is not good enough. I couldn't get the tyres up to temperature, and because of that there was severe understeer. One of my front brake discs felt like it was covered in ice, so it was very difficult for me to slow the car down into the corners.

      “Of course, it's all frustrating, because in the third practice the car was handling great, and I thought I was in for a great day, which turned into the worst. It couldn't get any worse.”

      Hamilton added that before the decisive attempt in the first session, on the warm-up lap he had to slow under yellow flags, so he didn't have time to start the attempt. However, in reality the red lights on the traffic light came on a moment after Lewis had started his fast lap, and he could have done the lap but chose not to because he thought he hadn't made it in time.

      “There were yellow flags before the final corner, so I had to lift,” the British Ferrari driver continued. “And at the moment I reached the line, the red lights came on.

      “The track was very slippery, and for some reason the first set of tyres wasn't right – they were difficult to get up to temperature. It's a shame, because the guys did a great job, and the car was handling brilliantly in the third practice. I felt we had great pace, but then it started to rain. Honestly, I don't really have much to say.”