Martin Brundle tells Lewis Hamilton what he must do before the US Grand Prix after horror qualifying

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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton loves the United States Grand Prix in Austin but Saturday was an unmitigated disaster for the seven-time Formula 1 world champion.

Lewis Hamilton could only qualify seventh for the Sprint Race, starting behind Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas and despite passing the German quickly, he couldn’t make any more progress in the race.

Mercedes had two drivers suffering from opposite issues during the Sprint Race, with George Russell complaining about his front tyres and Hamilton about his rears.

Hamilton later admitted that he had an issue with his car that he noticed during the formation lap, preventing him from making any further progress.

Qualifying couldn’t have gone much worse for Mercedes, with Hamilton eliminated during Q1 and Russell giving his mechanics and engineers plenty of work to do after the session as his huge crash in Q3 brought the session to an end.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes AMG F1 Team from team principal to lineage

The seven-time world champion recorded his worst qualifying performance at the United States Grand Prix, a track where Hamilton has an incredible record during his career and where he has a huge fanbase cheering his every move.

Speaking on Sky Sports F1 after Hamilton’s elimination that saw him qualify behind old teammate and Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas, Martin Brundle told the Brit what he has to do before the race starts on Sunday.

Hamilton is already going to be near the back of the grid and suggested that he may as well start from the pit lane and make as many changes as he likes to the car.

Brundle has told Hamilton to go one step further and take a new power unit as he may as well sacrifice one more grid position.

Liam Lawson knew before his return to the sport that he would be suffering the same fate but the Circuit of the Americas is one of the easier tracks for faster cars to make their way through the field.

Martin Brundle tells Lewis Hamilton to take engine change after United States Grand Prix qualifying

Talking about his elimination, Hamilton said: “In the Sprint, we had some sort of failure on the formation lap on the front suspension and I had that throughout the Sprint Race.

“That made the balance really difficult, we did change a couple of things to push us in the direction of what we would have done yesterday but the car was a nightmare today in qualy so I think we should probably start in the pit lane, otherwise I won’t be going anywhere.

“Just a very inconsistent balance and no grip.”

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Responding to Hamilton’s comments, David Croft said: “I think if the balance is that bad Martin then a pit lane start would be a no-brainer for Lewis Hamilton tomorrow.”

Brundle added: “Yep, and throw a bundle of new…you might as well introduce a fresh engine, a power unit and all the controls, electronics, [and] batteries into it too as well and try for a different set-up.

“He might as well because he’s starting as you point out, 18th anyway when Lawson’s had his penalty.

“That is one of the downsides of a Sprint weekend, is if a team or a driver miss the moment of the knife edge of a set-up and they’re not there.”

How the Austin crowd reacted to Lewis Hamilton’s disappointing United States Grand Prix qualifying

Hamilton is a fan favourite wherever he goes on the F1 calendar and he has a special relationship with the United States.

Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris even admitted to being a Hamilton fan, but anyone wearing Mercedes merchandise was left disappointed after Saturday’s performance.

David Croft shared the Austin crowd’s surprised reaction to Hamilton’s exit highlighting just what’s expected of the 39-year-old at every Grand Prix.

Scoring points is definitely a possibility for Hamilton during Sunday’s race, but Mercedes still have plenty of issues to resolve going into the race and for the rest of the season.