Lewis Hamilton blasts 'unacceptable' mistake in reaction to Belgian Grand Prix disaster

Lewis Hamilton took full responsibility for his "unacceptable" mistake which saw him qualify in the bottom five for the Belgian Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver thought he had made it safely through to the second part of the session on Saturday before his lap time was deleted.

It marked the second time this weekend that he failed to progress in qualifying, after spinning out in the first part of Friday's session which set the grid for the Sprint race. And Hamilton admitted afterwards that he had no-one to blame but himself.

The frustrated 40-year-old said: "I was the same as I was for the rest of the weekend. We made some changes, the car didn't feel terrible but it was tough for us because we had to put a second set of tyres on just to get through Q1, so not great.

"But from my side, another mistake so I've really got to look internally and apologise to the team, because it's unacceptable to be out in both Q1s. It's a very, very poor performance for myself."

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Asked what he can achieve in Sunday's race from so far back on the grid, Hamilton did no offer too much optimism as he lamented the fact F1's parc ferme rules mean he cannot make any meaningful changes to the set-up on his Ferrari. He said: "There's not much we can do, so I'll start from where I am and see where I go from there."

And he knows that there aren't any more notable improvements coming for his car this year, which has been a difficult debut campaign for the Brit with his new team. Hamilton added: "We have had upgrades, but I think this is probably it for the rest of the year. This season has been a tricky one."

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton points finger at Ferrari car after suffering Belgian GP disaster

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It was, at least, a better day for Charles Leclerc who admitted he was surprised to qualify third, going faster than Max Verstappen who had to settle for fourth on the grid and slower only than the two McLaren cars. "I am very happy today," smiled the Monegasque.

"It is strange to say that as it is still three tenths [off] and third place but we thought we were quite far back, but that was a really, really good lap and I loved how the car felt. It took some time to maximise those upgrades on the car, but I have felt comfortable with the car since FP1. It is good to have a qualifying where you look back and know you left nothing on the table."

Pole position was taken by Lando Norris who did well to see off team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri. The Aussie had laid down a marker a day earlier by not only taking pole for the Sprint race but doing so by half-a-second, positioning himself as very much the man to beat.

But Norris did exactly that, before rushing over for a hug from his Belgian mother, Cisca. Now the Brit wants to win his 'second home race', after conquering the first at Silverstone two weeks ago.