"It's unbelievable how low they sank" - Fans react to Lewis Hamilton being forced to start the F1 Azerbaijan GP from the pitlane

F1 fans have reacted to the announcement that Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton will be taking an engine penalty and will start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the pitlane. The seven-time world champion had a disappointing qualifying session on Saturday as he finished P7, one place behind Max Verstappen.

The German team has been struggling with power unit issues this weekend as George Russell missed a chunk of the FP2 session with the problem which compromised his preparation for the race simulation runs.

Hamilton's car will take on a new Internal Combustion Engine, his fifth for the season, along with multiple other power unit elements, and start from the pitlane along with Esteban Ocon.

F1 fans took to social media to share their reactions to the news that Hamilton will start from the pitlane at the Baku City Circuit. Some fans criticized the team for its decision, while others reacted to the timing of the decision.

One fan said,

"This team is so s**t, it's unbelievable how low they sank. Can't wait to get this over with and move on."

Another added,

"This is bad...not the track to take new PUs."

"Lewis saw who he was surrounded by and made a business decision."

Here are some more fan reactions:

"You know what they say, put Hamilton P20 and George P8, they’ll still finish at the same place," said a fan.

"I doubt Baku is the best track to take a new engine from and to start from the pit lane. Horrible decision!" wrote another.

"That's crazy," said another.

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Lewis Hamilton analyzes his qualifying at the Azerbaijan GP

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton said qualifying 7th for the Azerbaijan GP was not a surprise for him, as his underperformance on Saturday has been a trend this year.

Speaking with Sky Sports after qualifying, the 39-year-old said (via Autosport):

"Every Saturday, it's the same -- so, not really surprising. FP1 and FP2, car felt amazing. I was really on it, literally, from lap one. Sometimes we wonder when you get to a Saturday whether the others were heavier on P1 and P2.

"It felt great yesterday and then as soon as we started today, I barely changed anything to the car because I didn't want to mess anything up and the tires wouldn't work. All day, they've not worked. I think in the last lap, like the last sector, the tires just started to work. But we'd missed it."

Hamilton spoke about the difficulties of overtaking at the Baku City Circuit but was positive about his chances, adding (via F1.com):

"The aim is to move forward tomorrow, and I am staying positive that we can do so. It is not always easy to progress here, but we have a slightly different tire strategy to others which may help us."

Lewis Hamilton has not stood on the podium in Baku since his P2 finish in 2019 behind then-teammate Valtteri Bottas.