After introducing a promising upgrade as Formula 1 made its return, Mercedes had a nightmare Saturday in Austin, Texas as Lewis Hamilton qualified in 19th and George Russell crashed out of qualifying

Things have gone from bad to worse for Mercedes here at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix. On Saturday Lewis Hamilton was surprisingly eliminated in Q1, as a front suspension issue on his W15 that occurred during the F1 Sprint Race earlier in the day created problems that one of the world’s legendary drivers simply could not overcome during the session.

George Russell will start the United States Grand Prix from the pit lane after an enforced parc ferme breach from the Mercedes team. Mercedes had to break the ‘cars covered’ period two hours after the end of qualifying and worked through the night to repair Russell’s car following his Q3 crash on Saturday at the Circuit of The Americas track.