Lewis Hamilton was left bitterly disappointed after a strange incident wrecked his qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The quick evolution of the Yas Marina Circuit meant drivers were all scrambling to cross the line at the last opportunity in Q1.
Hamilton was at the back of the pack and in need of a quick time with his initial lap putting him in the drop zone.
The seven-time world champion was slow in the first sector, but managed to set a personal best in the second as he looked set to secure his place in Q2.
Lewis Hamilton saw his qualifying wrecked by a flying bollard
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However, Hamilton lost pace in the third sector and was ultimately unable to improve on his time as he finished 18th-fastest.
“I messed that lap up big time guys!” Hamilton moaned on team radio.
“That was bad man. Jesus!”
But it quickly became apparent that Hamilton may not have been at complete fault for failing to make it through Q1.
Martin Brundle said on commentary for Sky Sports: “The swear word was not bollard because that’s what’s stuck underneath his car.”
Live footage then cut to a large bollard wedged on the underside of Hamilton’s car as he drove around for his in lap after the session.
A replay was shown of how the item managed to find itself under Hamilton’s car in what turned out to be unfortunate circumstances for the Mercedes star.
Kevin Magnussen was seen trying to get out of the way in one of the final few corners of the track for a fast-approaching Hamilton with the Haas cutting a corner and hitting a bollard in the process.
The bollard then flew out into the middle of the track with an unsuspecting Hamilton picking up the plastic post under his car.
Brundle added: “K-Mag trying to get out of the way, flicks a bollard in the way, and that will have destroyed the aerodynamics on Lewis’ car and that explains why he had no pace.”
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There was more drama in Q2 with Charles Leclerc having his second lap time deleted, which bumped him down to 13th.
But the Ferrari driver has already been given a 10-place grid penalty for a battery unit change, meaning he will start Sunday’s race from the back.
It potentially wrecks Ferrari’s hopes of clawing the gap to McLaren at the top of the Constructors’ Championship in the final race.
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