Lewis Hamilton has spoken out on his sprint qualifying spin at the Belgian Grand Prix as onboard footage emerges.
Formula 1 returned after a three-week break at the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
After the practice session took place on Friday morning, qualifying for the sprint race got underway in the afternoon.
Ferrari star Hamilton was looking to build on his recent upturn in form, having finished fourth at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone earlier in the month.
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The 40-year-old also has a brilliant sprint record, having won the Shanghai sprint race earlier this season.
However, Hamilton had a session to forget in Belgium as he spun during his final flying lap of SQ1.
As a result, he qualified 18th, which was for sure not what he and Ferrari were expecting.
Shortly afterwards, the full onboard footage of the Hamilton incident was uploaded to social media.
As shown in the video, the Brit was left bitterly disappointed as he was seen shaking his head in disbelief as he drove back towards the pits.
What Lewis Hamilton said after dismal sprint qualifying at Belgian GP
When asked what happened by Sky Sports' Craig Slater, a crestfallen Hamilton said: "I spun, I spun, first time I think in my career."
Slater then asked: "But overall, how do you assess how the car has been today."
The seven-time world champion replied: "Erm, not great, not great, there's not really a lot to say.
"Tomorrow’s a new day. Obviously I’m massively frustrated… Hopefully tomorrow will be better."
Speaking afterwards, ex-F1 driver Martin Brundle shifted the blame away from Hamilton.
He said: "His rear axle broke up under braking, highly unusual. It looks like a technical issue. Nobody will be more surprised than Lewis.
"It’s almost like the engine sort of stalled out, and every time he pulled another shift it’s just locked the rear axle. I don't think there's anyone more surprised at that than Lewis Hamilton."
Sky Sports F1 expert Anthony Davidson agrees, he added: "I hear a lot of locking in the rear axle on the car. That clunking is backlash in the gearbox. I don't blame the driver for that moment.
"Something is going on there in the downshift phase of that Ferrari. I give Lewis the benefit of the doubt for that one."
Along with Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli, Franco Colapinto, Nico Hulkenberg and Alex Albon were also knocked out of SQ1.
In the end, McLaren star and championship leader Oscar Piastri qualified on pole position ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
Topics: Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1, Ferrari
Marcus Chan