Hamilton reflects on challenging qualifier ahead of final Mercedes race

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Lewis Hamilton lamented a less-than-ideal qualifying session as he prepares to line up 16th on the grid, following his final qualifying round with the Mercedes team at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Despite high hopes and a desire to secure one last podium for the team he has been with through his most successful years, Hamilton was candid with reporters, expressing a philosophical acceptance of the day's events. "Every day and more than ever I've just tried to be really present... Just trying to take it in because it's the last time we will be racing and driving in Silver Arrows and it's all my wins, all my success through my life so every moment is a special moment," Hamilton said.

Following the penalty adjustments to fellow drivers Charles Leclerc and Franco Colapinto, the 39-year-old British champion—who is poised to join Ferrari next season—was officially positioned for the race's outset after a taxing qualifying session that saw him eliminated in Q1.

Reflecting on what could have been, a candid Hamilton said, "I would have loved to get a podium for the guys this weekend and it just didn't work out."

Hamilton, who has secured six of his seven world titles with the Mercedes team, encountered a difficult qualifying round, finishing 18th and missing out on Q2 by a mere 0.093 seconds. "Yeah, I messed that up big time, guys," he admitted over the team radio, a sentiment echoed by his race engineer Peter Bonnington.

A notable error in strategy compounded the disappointment for Mercedes, with team principal Toto Wolff offering a deeply regretful statement to Sky Sports: "I just need to apologise to Lewis. Also to everyone in the team that worked so hard in making it a great end for him. It was an idiotic mistake of not going earlier. Inexcusable. I've rarely been so down about what has happened."

The final moments of Q1 added a bizarre twist when a bollard dislodged by Kevin Magnussen became an unwitting obstacle for Hamilton, affecting his performance. Although the full impact of this interference on his qualifying attempts remained unclear, Hamilton opined that the series of events could not have been worse: "I gave it everything, the car was in a good place. Every practice session went well, I was ahead of my teammate all weekend, but when we got to qualifying I think as a team we didn't perform in terms of the timing."

With a tone of resilience and looking toward the future, Hamilton concluded, "I survived a very, very hardcore year. Although I'm going to be sad not to be racing any more this year, but hopefully next year comes around soon enough. Just going to miss all these people that I got to work with."

As the sun sets on Hamilton's storied partnership with Mercedes, the final race in Abu Dhabi will mark the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter for the celebrated driver.

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