“Keep pushing!”: Hamilton’s timing line blunder ensured his Q1 elimination

Lewis Hamilton qualified last for the Las Vegas Grand Prix after incorrectly abandoning his final lap.

The Ferrari driver crossed the timing line moments before the chequered flag fell at the end of Q1. But Hamilton mistakenly believed he hadn’t reached the finishing line in time and slowed down.

That cost him his final chance to improve his lap time. Hamilton was 19th at the time and fell to 20th by the end of the session.

As is the case at several other tracks, the timing line at Las Vegas is before the front of the grid. Hamilton crossed the timing line while the session was still green. The gantry lights turned red signalling the end of the session soon after he crossed the timing line.

Hamilton cut it very close to start his final lap after backing off earlier in the session to get out of traffic and increase his chances of being one of the last drivers to set a time on the drying track. He then encountered a yellow flag at turn 14 which cost him more time.

His race engineer Ricardo Adami urged him to keep his pace up to ensure he reached the timing line before the session ended. Adami told him to “keep pushing” after he crossed it, but Hamilton had already backed off.

When Hamilton pointed out he had seen a red light, Adami replied “no, push.” The FIA’s timing data confirmed the first driver to take the chequered flag in the session was not Hamilton but Gabriel Bortoleto behind him.

Hamilton’s radio messages from the end of Q1

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