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What the F1 grid looked like the last time Lewis Hamilton suffered back-to-back Q2 exits with Mark Webber still racing

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Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari reached a new low at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Saturday. The Tifosi were left in disbelief as both cars went out in Q2.

Charles Leclerc once again starts ahead of Hamilton, but neither driver will be overly concerned by the intra-team battle after they locked out the sixth row of the grid. On a circuit where overtaking is difficult, they could struggle to score significant points.

The two Ferraris failed to improve on their final runs in Q2. That left them vulnerable, and late improvements from the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll dumped them out.

Hamilton also went out in Q2 at the Miami Grand Prix last time out and is facing back-to-back P12 starts. Ferrari have upgraded their car for Imola but they currently seem to be drifting further away from the front.

Lewis Hamilton out in Q2 at consecutive races for the first time since 2009

The last time Hamilton was eliminated in Q2 at two events in a row was the start of the 2009 season. He entered the year as world champion, but McLaren suffered a disastrous drop-off.

The Englishman could only manage 13th at the Australian GP, with a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change compounding matters. He was 12th at round two in Malaysia.

The table below shows what the grid looked like back then. Hamilton keeps making unwanted history, and he wouldn’t have expected to face the situation again after 16 years.

TEAMDRIVERDRIVER
McLarenLewis HamiltonHeikki Kovalainen
FerrariFelipe MassaKimi Raikkonen
BMW SauberRobert KubicaNick Heidfeld
RenaultFernando AlonsoNelson Piquet Jr
ToyotaTimo GlockJarno Trulli
Toro RossoSebastien BourdaisSebastien Buemi
Red BullMark WebberSebastian Vettel
WilliamsNico RosbergKazuki Nakajima
Force IndiaAdrian SutilGiancarlo Fisichella
BrawnJenson ButtonRubens Barrichello

Only Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are still racing from the 2009 grid. It also featured big names like Felipe Massa, Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button.

How Lewis Hamilton showed his class after miserable Ferrari qualifying at Imola

Speaking before the weekend started, Davide Valsecchi said Ferrari fans were divided over Hamilton. Some feel he’s ‘not delivering’.

However, the seven-time world champion has received nothing but support from the fans in attendance. The Imola grandstands are covered with Hamilton banners and flags.

To his credit, he made sure to wave to the crowd as he walked down the pit lane after he was knocked out. Ferrari will have a chance at redemption on Sunday, but more likely at Monza in September.

For the first time in Imola’s F1 history, neither of the scarlet red cars will start in the top 10.