Lewis Hamilton said he was "super gutted and devastated" by Ferrari's nightmare double elimination from qualifying at their first home race of the season. Passionate fans at Imola were stunned when they saw both the red cars fail to reach Q3 on Saturday.
was quick enough only for 11th on the grid for Sunday's race, while will start one place behind him. To make matters worse for the locals, Bologna-born was also knocked out in Q2, qualifying just 13th in his .
But qualifying was a truly chastening experience for with both drivers emotional as they faced reporters after the session. "Tough one, tough one. I mean, ultimately I feel super gutted, devastated that we weren't able to get through," said Hamilton.
"I really feel like we've made so many positive steps through the weekend, the car was generally feeling better. The brakes were better today, the balance was really nice and, in Q2, run one felt decent.
"And then when we put the new tyres on, for some reason, we just didn't have any more grip and I couldn't go any faster. You see everyone else, they managed to switch the tyres on, clearly.
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"So we definitely need to look into that and the reason it's devastating is just to see everyone who has worked so hard in the garage. To be in Italy for the first time, first Italian race for me at Ferrari and to not make it through to Q3, it's bittersweet."
Leclerc was even more frustrated with his situation, continuing his trend of being highly critical of the car Ferrari have given him this season. "You can always do a little bit more with a lap and improve quite a few things, but we are just nowhere at the moment," he fumed.
"There's not enough performance in the car. I keep repeating myself – there's just not the potential that we would hope inside this car at the moment and we need to be better."
The failure of so many top teams to make it through to the final round provided an opportunity for others to take advantage. Among those who did were who again saw both their drivers reach the top 10.
did so in style, topping the timesheets at the end of Q2 to raise hopes of an unlikely push for pole. It wasn't to be, but the Spaniard will still have been very happy with sixth place on the grid. Sainz has now out-qualified Hamilton, the man to whom he lost his Ferrari seat, at each of the last four Grands Prix.
took pole position, edging out while had to settle for fourth place with a messy final run which saw him also bettered by .
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