Hamilton gets apology from Mercedes after qualifying debacle in his last race with team

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff apologized to Lewis Hamilton on Saturday for a strategy error which cost him as he placed 18th in qualifying for his last race with the Formula 1 team.

Hamilton was among the five drivers eliminated in the first part of Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying after his final lap was ruined by driving over a marker pole which was knocked onto the track by Kevin Magnussen's car.

Wolff said the team “shouldn’t have been risking so much” by sending Hamilton out late in the session with no room for error.

“We need to apologize to Lewis and everyone in the team who has worked so hard to deliver a great final weekend for him here in Abu Dhabi,” Wolff said.

“He has been quick across all three practice sessions and was looking good for a strong result tomorrow. Sadly, we totally let him down at the end of Q1. We made the mistake of not sending the drivers out early enough.”

Hamilton is set to be 16th on the grid for Sunday's race because of penalties for other drivers. His Mercedes teammate George Russell qualified seventh and will start sixth. Lando Norris is on pole position for McLaren.

“It is obviously really frustrating,” Hamilton said. "It is difficult to say what would have been possible if we had made it through to the final part of qualifying. We have been looking good across the practice sessions so I think we could have challenged for the first couple of rows."

Hamilton's move to Ferrari for 2025 was announced in February, and the seven-time world champion said on Thursday he'd underestimated the emotional strain of going through an entire season with Mercedes before leaving.

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The Associated Press