Lewis Hamilton’s qualifying session for the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix turned into one of the most difficult moments of his F1 career. The Ferrari driver ended Q1 in last place, the first time he has ever qualified at the bottom purely on pace. For Ferrari, it was their first Q1 last-place result since Giancarlo Fisichella in Abu Dhabi 2009.
Hamilton, who has described 2025 as “the most difficult year of my career,” faced a combination of poor grip, misunderstanding, and untimely incidents that together created a disastrous outcome.
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A missed final lap due to miscommunication and track layout confusion
After crossing the control line late in Q1, Hamilton still had time for one final flying lap. Immediately he asked over team radio:
“Did we make it?”
His engineer, Riccardo Adami, responded:
“Keep pushing!”
But Hamilton lifted and aborted the lap. The core of the mistake lies in Las Vegas’ unusual layout.
The control line and the starting line are separated by 92 metres. Hamilton appears to have mistaken the starting line’s signal—showing red at the end of the session—as the timing point. Data later confirmed that the signal was still green when he crossed the actual control line.
Hamilton later said:
“The light was red when I crossed the line. I didn’t have any grip anyway so I don’t think it would have made much difference.”
However, the system showed he did still have the right to start a final attack lap.
A bollard strike and double yellow flags add to the chaos
Before reaching this final moment, Hamilton already had two setbacks during his previous lap:
• A bollard struck the floor and lodged under the car
• Double yellow flags appeared, forcing him to lift
Hamilton explained:
“There was a yellow flag coming into the last corner and then another into Turn 17 so I had to lift off.”
These interruptions removed any chance of recovering pace at a session where Ferrari already struggled with grip.
From FP3 confidence to Q1 disaster
What made the outcome even more painful was Hamilton’s strong feeling after FP3 earlier in the day.
“The car felt great in FP3 and I was really looking forward to it, thinking finally we’re going to have a good day, but it didn’t happen.”
His optimism evaporated within hours. Instead of fighting near the front, Hamilton ended the session in 20th, visibly shaken by the result.
Except for his Chinese GP sprint win, he has not stood on an F1 podium since joining Ferrari. The Las Vegas setback was another heavy blow in what he calls the toughest season he has experienced.
Hamilton will now start the race from the very back. His final two rounds of the year will determine how he closes a difficult chapter.
