Hamilton endures Qatar misery, but 'it could have been worse'
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Lewis Hamilton endured a grim Qatar Grand Prix, finishing a lowly 12th after a series of errors and misfortunes marred his performance, and yet the Briton reckoned that "it could have been worse".
Driving an uncooperative Mercedes, Hamilton battled crippling understeer and self-inflicted setbacks, epitomizing a difficult season that continues to weigh heavily on the seven-time world champion.
Starting sixth, Hamilton's hopes of a competitive penultimate outing with Mercedes were dashed almost immediately when a false start saw him slip behind Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez, and Fernando Alonso.
From there, the seven-time world champion's fortunes only spiraled downward. Despite initially climbing to eighth after a Safety Car restart, Hamilton couldn't maintain momentum and struggled to challenge the leading pack, much less his pole-sitting teammate, George Russell.
The lack of front-end grip made every lap a battle and, as Hamilton speculated, may have contributed to his later misfortune.
Lap 34 brought further disaster when Hamilton suffered a front-left puncture, dropping him to the back of the field. Though some speculated debris from a broken wing mirror caused the failure, Hamilton offered a more introspective view.
"We didn't get the wing setting right," he said. "It's happened many times. Yeah, just basically not having enough front wing in the car, and the car just wouldn't turn.
"So I was just understeering massively for a long period of time. And honestly, for me, it felt like that's what led to the tyre failing. Maybe it was debris. I didn't see any debris, to be honest, but it's not ideal. It happened just as I got to the pitlane entry."
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The puncture wasn't his only setback. After serving his five-second penalty for jumping the start, Hamilton was later hit with a drive-through penalty for a pitlane speeding infraction.
These mistakes compounded an already difficult race, leaving him far adrift from the points-scoring positions.
Despite his frustrations, Hamilton tried to salvage perspective, albeit in a tone that revealed the weight of his disappointment.
"It could have been worse, but I finished and it's over," he reflected. "That was me at the start. And then the puncture was really unfortunate. And the pitlane, that was me as well."
At one point, Hamilton requested to retire the car, only to rescind the suggestion when the team approved it. Ultimately, he dragged his W15 to the checkered flag but couldn't muster more than 12th place.
As Hamilton approaches his final race with Mercedes in Abu Dhabi, his outlook is understandably muted. With little expectation of a turnaround, he acknowledged the difficult reality of his situation.
"I don't think we're going to end up in a high," he said. "It will end and I think what's important is how we turn up, we give it our best shot."
Hamilton's words carried the weight of resignation.
"I don't anticipate a particularly much better weekend than we've had in the past weekends, but naturally I'll try," he said. "Go in with low hopes and maybe come out with a better result – it doesn't really make a big difference either way."
For a driver whose career has been defined by excellence, this season has been an uncharacteristic struggle. But Hamilton remains philosophical, recognizing the ebb and flow of a sport that has both elevated and tested him.
"It's been a rollercoaster ride of emotions and I'm just grateful I'm still standing and I'm still OK," he said. "I've had great races in my life and I've had bad races in my life. Not too many bad ones."
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