Lewis Hamilton has labelled his maiden Ferrari campaign as his “hardest year” in the sport after a horror qualifying result in Las Vegas.
Hamilton could not lift himself off the foot of the timesheet during the opening qualifying segment on Friday evening.
It left him P20 when the chequered flag was waved, marking the first time in his career he has qualified at the back of the grid on pure pace.
Hamilton entered the qualifying session having shown strong pace throughout practice, leaving him surprised with his final result.
“The car was feeling great in FP3, I was really, really excited that we’d finally have a good day,” Hamilton told media including RacingNews365.
“I had a yellow flag on the last corner, and then going into Turn 17, there was a yellow flag, so I had to lift.
“But I didn't have the grip anyway, so I don't think it would have made much difference.”
Hamilton is still awaiting his first trip to the podium with Ferrari and only has three races to go to maintain his record of scoring a top-three finish in every season of his career.
Starting from P20, however, it will be a tall task for the seven-time champion to climb back up the order for a podium result.
When asked to explain his overhanging emotions after the difficult result, Hamilton replied: “I don’t really have an answer for that.
“It obviously feels horrible. It doesn't feel good.
“But all I can do, I just got to let it go by and try and come back tomorrow. I’ve done everything I could possibly do in terms of preparation.
“All the practice sessions, we were feeling amazing in FP3 and I just didn't get a lap at the end.
“I felt like we were quickest, and then you come out of qualifying 20th. This year is definitely the hardest year.
“We can try tomorrow, we’ve got a really good car. It’s going to be really hard to come back from 20th.”
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