Hamilton dumped OUT of Abu Dhabi qualifying by Mercedes team-mate

Lewis Hamilton suffered a disappointing performance in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, getting knocked out in Q2 after a tricky outing around the circuit.

The seven-time world champion was eliminated from qualifying by his own teammate in the closing seconds of the session, as George Russell leapt up to P4 and pushed Hamilton into P11.

Having secured pole on five previous occasions in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton was clearly frustrated by his lacklustre outing.

READ MORE: Verstappen struggles in final practice as Mercedes fire big warning

Speaking to his team over the radio on his in lap, Hamilton said: "There’s something not right with this car.”

Hamilton will have to settle with a P11 start, finding himself 0.619 seconds down from initial pole sitter Max Verstappen in Q2.

When asked after the session what was wrong, Hamilton explained he was “just struggling with balance.”

“I don’t have any answers. At this point, it is what it is.

“There’s something not right. I’m sure we’ll dive into it.”

Sky Sports reported after the session that Mercedes had disassembled Hamilton’s car to examine what could have caused his performance difficulties.

It was the second shock of the session after Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was eliminated in Q1, lining up on Sunday in P16.

Sainz blamed his poor performance on traffic, accusing his rivals of intentionally slowing him down during his fast lap.

F1 Qualifying Results: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2023

Q3 results

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 4. George Russell (Mercedes) 5. Lando Norris (McLaren) 6. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) 7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 8. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) 9. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

Eliminated from Q2

11. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 12. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) 13. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 14. Alexander Albon (Williams) 15. Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri)

Eliminated from Q1

16. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 17. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) 18. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) 19. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) 20. Logan Sargeant (Williams)

READ MORE: FIA take action for F1 qualifying after Verstappen incident

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