Lewis Hamilton’s already challenging weekend at the United States Grand Prix took a turn for the worse when he crashed his Mercedes into a gravel trap just two laps into the race.
The seven-time champion faced difficulties throughout the Austin event, particularly during qualifying, where he started the main race in 19th place—his first-ever Q1 exit in the U.S.
After a promising practice session, he qualified seventh for the Sprint but couldn’t gain ground.
Hamilton made a strong start on race day, quickly moving up to 12th, but lost control of his car, spinning off track.
His car became stuck in the gravel, and despite minimal damage, he was unable to continue.
Acknowledging his mistake, he apologized to his team over the radio as his disappointing weekend ended prematurely.
This incident also prompted the safety car to be deployed, marking the first intervention in 10 races—an unusually long streak without a safety car. Meanwhile,
Lando Norris, who started on pole, saw Charles Leclerc from Ferrari take the lead as the two vied for position at the start.
