‘How far off are we? This is crazy’: Lewis Hamilton reveals qualifying frustration over team radio

Hamilton’s 2022 car issues have spilled into the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - with George Russell also struggling in a W13 that is not ‘drivable’

Lewis Hamilton voiced his frustration during qualifying (PA)

Lewis Hamilton’s struggles at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix continued as both Mercedes cars failed to advance to the final session of qualifying for the first time in almost 10 years at Imola.

Hamilton only managed to scraped to the second session of qualifying, coming in 15th by just 0.004s, and that is where his day ended. The seven-time world champion finished 13th and Mercedes’ problems were compounded as George Russell finished 11th, also failing to make it through to the top-10 shootout.

After Carlos Sainz crashed into the wall to trigger a red flag, both Hamilton and Russell decided not to go back out to the track during Q2 on wet tyres. Hamilton had let his frustrations known over the team radio in Q1, saying: “How far off are we, man? This is crazy.”

It follows an underwhelming opening to the 2022 campaign for Mercedes who have seen car trouble thwart their dominance in the sport. For years Toto Wolff’s team and Hamilton had a grip on the top of the driver standings and constructors title but they are off the pace this year.

Porpoising is the main issue for the team in Imola and it got to the stage in practice that Russell broke his car interior.

Wolff told Sky: “We had George bouncing so much that he actually broke the stay on the floor. You can’t drive [down the main straight] – you have to lift on the straight.

“They [Russell and Hamilton] are trained – I have never experienced bouncing like this in my life. But it’s clearly not drivable.”

The disastrous qualifying will dent Mercedes’ hopes of holding onto second in the drivers and constructors titles. Russell is currently behind Charles Leclerc with Hamilton in fifth.

There is a sprint race at this event and so both Mercedes drivers will be able to improve their starting positions for the Grand Prix on Sunday.