Lewis Hamilton Issues Statement on Ferrari’s Disastrous US Grand Prix Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton delivered a candid take on Ferrari's disastrous US Grand Prix sprint qualifying with an inspiring post.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen beat McLaren's title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to take pole for the sprint race at the US Grand Prix.

With the last lap of the session, Verstappen displaced Norris at the top of the timesheets by 0.071 seconds in Austin.

Piastri was 0.309 seconds behind his McLaren teammate.

As for Ferrari, they struggled as Hamilton could only manage eighth ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc, who took 10th.

So, the Brit will start the sprint down in P8 behind the likes of Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Mercedes' George Russell, not to mention the aforementioned Verstappen, Norris and Piastri.

Despite the nightmare session, Hamilton took to social media to post a rousing message as he addressed his fans, claiming that the car felt great until the qualifying session started.

"Felt great in the car today until quali. Still I'm feeling optimistic, we can still have fun from there guys. The support so far this weekend is immense, thank you all for being here and for your love," he wrote in a post on his Instagram story.

The sprint race takes place on Saturday (6pm UK time) with qualifying for Sunday's grand prix at 10pm.

Lewis Hamilton during a practice session at the US Grand Prix. Image: Getty

US Grand Prix sprint qualifying top 10:

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

2. Lando Norris (McLaren)

3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

4. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

5. George Russell (Mercedes)

6. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

7. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

8. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

9. Alex Albon (Williams)

10. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

Lewis Hamilton struggled in the US Grand Prix sprint qualifying. Image: Getty

Lewis Hamilton: 'Definitely not the pace we were expecting'

Ferrari arrived in Austin having not achieved a podium finish across the last five races.

And based on Ferrari's sprint qualifying, it doesn't bode well for a top three finish.

Speaking after the session, Hamilton said: "That was definitely not the pace we were expecting."

Asked if he had any idea where the pace went, the 40-year-old replied: "No, I really don’t."

He added: "It was looking good in practice, and [S]Q1 was looking pretty decent also. And then, it just started to fall away from us.

"The car is very, very tough to drive. Yeah, it just fell away from us.

"I mean, eight-tenths, that’s a mountain to climb."