Hamilton walked out of Q1 at P16 on Saturday night in Jeddah as Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll improved – he sent the Mercedes driver out of the qualifiers while teammate George Russell made it to Q3 and eventually finished in sixth place on the grid. SEE: Lewis Hamilton eliminated in Q1 The 103-time pole-sitter was almost lost on words when asked if he was surprised by the result: “Yes, of course. I just struggled with the balance of the car and yes, not where we want to be. “It was something set up. It looked good on the P3, we tried to go in a similar direction and maybe we overdid it. And the car was just impossible – I was so nervous. Now Hamilton, who took the pole and won here in 2021, will start three rows from the back of the grid as he tries to save a score for the Silver Arrows – for whom he saved a podium at the Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend. “I have the same car that I had in the qualifiers, so I do not plan to go that far,” he continued. “But I will give it my all.” Teammate Russell was more forthright with his concerns about the pace of the Mercedes W13 as he qualified sixth – behind Esteban Ocon’s Alpine and just 0.043 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso’s other Alpine. READ MORE: Perez beats Ferrari for impressive maiden pole position in Saudi Arabia qualifiers “The P5 was definitely strong,” said Russell, “but it was a very difficult day and weekend for the team. I’re really having a hard time putting the car in the window. We know what our seal problems are. We’re doing what we can for solve it, but unfortunately, we are not making huge progress right now, everyone is working day and night to make it happen. “Every day is a day of learning, I’m sure we learned something more than that qualifying period, but unfortunately, it is a championship and we want to fight even higher.” Sergio Perez took an amazing maiden pole in the qualifiers in front of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc – in a session that was interrupted for the serious accident of Mick Schumacher, for which he was taken to hospital for preventive examinations.