P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Lewis Hamilton endured a disastrous outing at the Belgian Grand Prix and is set to take the start of the sprint race from towards the back of the grid.
Lewis Hamilton experienced a career first when he had to end his session early during the sprint qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps due to a spin at the penultimate corner on his final SQ1 attempt. As a result, the seven-time champion finished the session in 18th place, which was a disappointing outcome for the Ferrari driver as he was working with a new rear suspension for the weekend. Hamilton admitted that it was the first time in his career that he had spun in such a manner, indicating rear locking as the cause. He offered limited insights into the car’s performance with the rear suspension upgrade, expressing that it did not feel great on the track. Despite the challenging start at Spa, Hamilton remains hopeful for a better outcome in the upcoming qualifying session, emphasizing that tomorrow is a new day and expressing frustration over the current situation. This session exit was the first time this year that Hamilton was unable to progress out of the initial qualifying segment with Ferrari.
