"I am incredibly disappointed in myself" - Lewis Hamilton says he doesn't 'have an answer' for his crash during qualifying for 2022 F1 Austrian GP Sprint race

Lewis Hamilton was flummoxed after crashing out during qualifying for the 2022 F1 Austrian GP on Friday.

The Briton appeared set for a strong showing in the final qualifying session after impressive runs in Q1 and Q2 before a massive shunt at Turn 7 ended his hopes.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the incident, a deflated Lewis Hamilton could only apologize as he searched for answers. The 37-year-old said:

“Yeah, I am OK. It was a big hit but I am OK. I am incredibly disappointed in myself ultimately and so sorry to the team who worked so hard to put this car together and I never like to bring it back damaged. We were fighting for top three I think and I don’t have an answer for it. I lost the back end into Turn 7 and that was that.”

Despite his misfortune, Hamilton was encouraged by the Silver Arrows' pace around the Red Bull Ring as they look to get back to being a dominant force at the front of the pack. The seven-time world champion added, saying:

“I am encouraged for sure, I am encouraged of course to see our performance. We weren’t expecting for it to be as close as that today. That is a huge positive from the team but I am really quite far back so I don’t know what is possible from there but we have a sprint race as well so hopefully I can make up for some lost time.”

Hamilton's Mercedes teammate George Russell also wound up in the barrier towards the end of Q3 on a day that started well but ended on a miserable note for Toto Wolff and Co.

As a result, Lewis Hamilton will start Saturday's Sprint race in P10 while Russell will be on the third row in P5.

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"The matter is not particularly massively important"- Lewis Hamilton breaks his silence on a potential F1 race ban over jewelry fiasco

Lewis Hamilton feels F1 and the FIA have 'bigger fish to fry' than a crackdown on drivers for wearing jewelry while racing. Earlier in the season, the FIA announced that drivers would be checked for proper fire retardant underwear and jewelry whilst driving on track ahead of the 2022 F1 Miami GP.

Ever since then, Hamilton has been under perennial scrutiny, primarily for the fact that he is the most bejeweled driver on the gird, figuratively and literally. The Briton was given a two-race exemption from then till the 2022 F1 Monaco GP before the possibility of a race ban became a reality.

The race in the Principality came and went but Lewis Hamilton was not reprimanded. Two rounds after racing in Monte Carlo, the seven-time world champion was asked to give an update on the impasse between him and the FIA.

Speaking at a pre-race press conference ahead of the 2022 F1 British GP, the Mercedes driver said:

“With all due respect, it’s kind of crazy to think that, with everything that’s going on in the world, that is a focus for people. And I would say it’s worrying that we’ve got so much bigger fish to fry… I use fish to fry because… I’m vegan, so we don’t fry fish, but you know what I mean. But, yes, we’ve got we’ve really got to start focusing on other more important areas. I will be racing this weekend, I will be working with the FIA. I would say the matter is not particularly massively important. So I will work with Mohammed [ben Sulayem] and with his team so that we can progress forwards.”

Heading into the 2022 F1 Austrian GP Sprint, the Briton is sixth in the World Drivers' Championship standings with 93 points after 10 rounds of racing.