Lewis Hamilton's debut season with Ferrari is set to end with a whimper after a disastrous qualifying session at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix left the seven-time world champion seething with emotion.
A Session of Frustration at Yas Marina
Hamilton could only manage 16th on the grid for the final race of the 2025 season at the Yas Marina Circuit. This result marks the third consecutive Grand Prix weekend where he has been eliminated in the first part of qualifying, a miserable run of form for the most successful qualifier in F1 history.
Visibly dejected, Hamilton offered few words to the media after the session. He was most candid with Sky Italy, stating, "I don't have the words to describe the feeling I have inside. There's an unbearable amount of anger and rage and there's not really much I can say about it."
Barely a Word for the Press
To Sky Sports UK, Hamilton's frustration was even more palpable. In response to a question about his wretched day, he muttered just 11 words: "We made lots of changes and the car felt great today." When asked by interviewer Rachel Brookes if his own performance or a continued lack of understanding about the car's one-lap pace was to blame, Hamilton simply nodded in response to both queries.
Commentator David Croft praised Hamilton's honesty in the difficult moment, noting how hard it must be for a driver with 104 career pole positions to confront such a lack of speed.
Crash Adds to Pre-Qualifying Woes
Compounding Hamilton's troubles was a crash during final practice earlier on Saturday, which forced his team to hastily rebuild his Ferrari. Co-commentator Martin Brundle suggested this played a significant role, explaining that the rushed repair job would have left little time for perfecting the car's setup.
Meanwhile, at the front of the grid, Max Verstappen secured pole position. He will line up alongside Lando Norris, with both drivers firmly in the fight for the world championship in Sunday's title-deciding race.
For Hamilton, the 2025 campaign concludes not with the triumphant new chapter he and Ferrari fans envisioned, but with a profound sense of disappointment and unresolved questions heading into the winter break.
