'Devastated' Hamilton draws alarming Max Verstappen comparison after shock Q2 exit

Lewis Hamilton expressed his deep disappointment after being eliminated in Q2 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, qualifying 11th. His Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, also failed to advance, starting 12th.

Hamilton felt the car's general performance was good and his setup was optimal, but crucially lacked the pace to compete, particularly in the fast opening corners, drawing a stark comparison to Max Verstappen.

"Yeah, definitely, feel devastated," Hamilton stated. "I feel just gutted I guess, because the car was generally feeling really good. I honestly felt like the car with the setup was just right, the brakes were working. Everything was kind of in place, and we just can't go quicker. If you look how quick Max is going through Turn 2 and 3, we just can't match it."

He noted that the new soft tires did not provide the expected performance boost.

Acknowledging the high expectations from the sell-out crowd at Imola, Hamilton conveyed his surprise and frustration at the significant pace deficit, admitting, "I really thought we were going to be getting through, I thought the cars alive, and watching these guys doing 14.7s I mean, we could just get to 15.7. It's a lot of time missing."