For Lewis Hamilton, his Las Vegas Grand Prix qualifying ended in confusing circumstances with Q1 elimination, as he prepares to start the race from last on the grid.<\/p>\n
Hamilton<\/a> had made it to the line by the skin of his teeth to start a final push lap, but did not embark on one, having seen red lights to signal the end of the session. However, analysis from Sky F1\u2019s Anthony Davidson suggested that the light was still green when Hamilton hit the timing line, as he theorised that Hamilton may have based his decision to lift off on the wrong line.<\/p>\n Did Lewis Hamilton observe the wrong line in Las Vegas?<\/p>\n The seven-time world champion did not believe so. When he spoke with Sky F1 after his Q1 elimination, Hamilton insisted that the lights were red when he crossed the line, indicating session over, so he did not set off on another lap.<\/p>\n \u201cI got yellow flags in the last corner, and coming into [Turn] 17 there were yellow flags,\u201d Hamilton explained.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I had to lift, and when I came to the line, it was red, so that was that.\u201d<\/p>\n Hamilton had queried over team radio\u00a0whether he was safely into Q2<\/a> after crossing the lines, but was told by race engineer Riccardo Adami no, so keep pushing. At that point, it was of course too late, as Hamilton had already backed off.<\/p>\n Footage of the situation was analysed by former Minardi, BAR-Honda and Super Aguri driver Davidson. He determined that Hamilton was in the clear to go for one more push lap, and that the seven-time world champion had perhaps been confused over the chequered timing line, and the start line which follows.<\/p>\n Who was to blame for the confusion? \ud83e\udd14https:\/\/t.co\/N4Auob45Yo<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) November 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got that teed up here, Lewis\u2019s start to what, I believe, should have been his last timed lap,\u201d Davidson began.<\/p>\n \u201cA soon as I press play, you\u2019ll hear him recovering from that previous yellow flag, as he re-accelerates through Turn 17, and what\u2019s going to happen is he gets to the chequered line, that\u2019s the timing line, and remember that, because that\u2019s the important part.<\/p>\n \u201cThe green lights are still there. So that\u2019s what he\u2019s saying. So he\u2019s seen red lights, but if I just roll it back, he was carrying speed at this part, up to this chequered line. And when he gets to the timing line, 100 per cent, it\u2019s good to go. It\u2019s good to send it and do another lap. But as he passes that line, it immediately goes red.<\/p>\n \u201cSo very hard to judge, obviously, at the speeds you\u2019re doing inside the car. But he did cross the line to open up a new lap before the red lights came on. And I wonder if he\u2019s looking at this line, the start line, instead of the finish line.<\/p>\n More reaction from Las Vegas GP qualifying<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0Winners and losers from the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix qualifying<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0How Lando Norris got away with a big mistake on Las Vegas GP pole lap<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSo two different lines here at this track, like we have at many circuits, but the finish line is the timing line.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd to prove that, we have the world feed here of [Isack] Hadjar, for example, coming up to that very line, and as he does that, he\u2019s about to finish Sector 3, and as he crosses that line, there comes the purple Sector 3, so that is the timing line, and that means that Lewis was good to go when he crossed that chequered line.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure he would have had the speed anyway to get through, but it was clearly very close from inside the car for Lewis to judge whether it was good to send it again on another lap. I feel personally like he missed a valid push lap there.\u201d<\/p>\n With Hamilton P20 and last on the grid, his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc launches from P9, as the Scuderia looks to remain in the Constructors\u2019 Championship<\/a> P2 fight. Mercedes holds that spot going into the race, 36 points ahead of Ferrari in fourth, with Red Bull nestled between the pair.<\/p>\n