"That's kinda the weekend done": Lewis Hamilton's resigned verdict after a disastrous qualifying session at the F1 Dutch GP

Lewis Hamilton has expressed his disappointment with his qualifying performance during the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix. He failed to advance beyond Q2, resulting in a starting position of P12 for tomorrow's race.

Mercedes have looked strong in recent races as both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have brought victories to the team. The car also demonstrated strong pace throughout the Dutch Grand Prix weekend at Zandvoort. However, the qualifying session ended on a disappointing note for Hamilton, as he failed to make it out of Q2.

Following a moment of oversteer during one of his final outlaps, the 39-year-old was unable to improve his lap time. As other drivers capitalized on the evolving track conditions, he found himself in P12. After the conclusion of the session, he described it as "terrible."

"Yeah, just started to get, it just went downhill like a domino effect from the moment with Checo and then Balance just got more and more snappy and more and more over-steery. And yeah, it was terrible," Hamilton said.

"It's definitely very frustrating naturally, but it is what it is. It's kind of the weekend done and to me once next week," he added.

His teammate, George Russell, enjoyed a more successful qualifying session and will start the race from the second row in P4.

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Lewis Hamilton's teammate George Russell "expected a little bit more" from Dutch GP qualifying

While Hamilton expressed his disappointment with the outcome of the qualifying session, Russell had a more positive experience throughout all three sessions. Reflecting on his qualifying performance, he said that they had strong runs during Q1 and Q2, but the final session proved to be less competitive.

"It’s always a little bit difficult psychologically when you go out there and it’s just not feeling as you expect, and you’re down the order looking likely to, or potentially getting knocked out of Q1," F1 quoted him as saying.

"We just had to take a reset. Q1 at the end I was strong, I think I was second, Q2 was really strong again right behind the McLarens, and then Q3 it just didn’t quite come to me – I expected a little bit more. But I think P4 was a fair result," he added.

Mercedes, despite a challenging start to the season, has shown impressive competitiveness. Although the car initially struggled and fell outside the top five, the team has made significant strides in improving its pace throughout the first half of the season. This progress has culminated in returning to winning ways and securing a fourth-place position in the Constructors' Championship.