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Lewis Hamilton suffered a torrid qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix as he finished the Q3 session in P9. Witnessing this, fans shared their opinions on X (formerly Twitter), and questioned whether they should accept that the 40-year-old is past his prime after being beaten by Charles Leclerc in qualifying time and again.
Ferrari arrived at the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend with high hopes as it brought in a new upgrade package. This package seemingly focused on the floor and the underbody of the SF-25 and could have reduced the drivers from being tackled by the unwanted characteristics of the 2025 challenger.
Hamilton had the opportunity to dwell in with new upgrades as his teammate sat out the FP1 session for Dino Beganovic. While he finished the FP1 session in third, his performance kept getting worse over the weekend.
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Moreover, Leclerc was able to get at home with the new package as he qualified third for the race on Sunday, whereas Hamilton finished a dismal P9. Knowing the severity of his underwhelming result, the Briton apologized to Ferrari over the radio, but fans were having none of it and asked whether Hamilton was past his prime:
"Guys is it time to accept that Lewis Hamilton might be washed?"
Here are some more reactions from fans on Lewis Hamilton's performance during the qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix:
"Bro needs to get back in that simulator and learn how the Ferrari works. His driving style is very fast as a driver but F1 cars in these regs don't like late braking. Especially the Ferrari. Can't keep doing the same thing and expect different results," one fan shared his take.
"Tired of his apologies. He need to do something ASAP or it will be embarrassing for his legacy. Ferrari might drop him," another fan wrote.
"So sick of the I’m sorries every damn weekend," a third fan made a bold statement.
"I love this dude, watch him since I was 9, but it’s over, c’mon. He lost the pure speed, it’s ok, he is the goat. But stop this suffering, one fan requested.
Meanwhile, one fan sided by him and shared Lewis Hamilton's motto:
"Still we rise. We keep the faith," the fan wrote.
The seven-time champion has won the sole sprint race that has happened so far this season, but has not had impressive results during the main races.
Lewis Hamilton admits his tendency to mess up in the qualifying sessions
With Lewis Hamilton coming over from Mercedes with a massive deficit to George Russell in the qualifying segment over the last year, the former world champion hoped for a better start with Ferrari. However, the trend of being outqualified by his teammate has carried over to the Maranello-based squad, where Charles Leclerc now has the bragging rights.
Confessing about his losses in the qualifying session in comparison to his teammates, Hamilton said during the post-qualifying interview (via @JunaidSamodien_ on X):
"It was about my performance. Poor performance. No reason, just not doing the job. It happens every Saturday, yes."
Despite the abysmal qualifying sessions, points are awarded during the race day, and Hamilton has a lot to play for during the 57-lap race on Sunday, April 13.
