Lewis Hamilton offered his apologies to his Ferrari team after qualifying only ninth for Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri claimed pole position for McLaren while Mercedes’ George Russell – Hamilton’s former teammate – will start in second.
Yet while Hamilton struggled for pace in the final phase of qualifying, his current teammate at Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, found some form and will start from third.
Hamilton, who will start a spot behind Williams’ Carlos Sainz – the man he replaced at Ferrari – could not hide his despondency afterwards.
On the team radio, Hamilton said: “Sorry guys, sorry man. Really sorry.”
Asked about what he was apologising for, Hamilton then told Sky F1: “It was about my poor performance.
“No reasons, not doing the job. It happens every Saturday.”
Hamilton endured a torrid qualifying record last year up against Russell, with the younger Brit prevailing 19-5 over the course of the season, and the seven-time world champion struggled again in Bahrain.
Leclerc, meanwhile, was satisfied with his evening’s work in the upgraded SF-25 car.
“Honestly I didn’t expect P3,” he said.
“As soon as we put the new tyres on, it was quite a bit better – I’m happy. We explored extreme setups in the last few weekends and now I’ve found my way a little bit.
“The team has pushed like crazy to get the upgrades, it’s a small gain, not a big one.”
The Bahrain Grand Prix, race four of the 2025 season, starts at 4pm (BST) on Sunday.
