Lewis Hamilton experienced a shocking exit in the first segment of Sprint Qualifying (SQ1) at the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix, after spinning out at Spa-Francorchamps. The incident, which Hamilton described as a "career first," occurred at the Bus Stop chicane during his final flying lap, ultimately leaving him in 18th place for Saturday's sprint race.

The seven-time world champion's troubles began earlier in the session when a mistake on his initial run placed him in the drop zone. Despite setting a personal best in the second sector, a sudden rear lock-up caused him to spin as he braked for the Bus Stop chicane. This ended his chances of advancing to SQ2.

Hamilton expressed his frustration after the session. When questioned about the incident, he confirmed that a rear lock was the cause, stating, "[Yeah] First time, I think, in my career". When asked for his assessment of the car, he responded: "Not great, not great. Yeah, there's not really a lot to say".

Speculation suggests a potential technical issue may have contributed to the spin. Sky Sports F1's Anthony Davidson noted a "clunking" sound during Hamilton's downshifts, which he suspected was related to "backlash in the gearbox". Davidson stated, "I don't blame the driver for that moment. Something is going on there in the downshift phase of that Ferrari. I give Lewis the benefit of the doubt for that one". Martin Brundle from Sky F1 echoed this sentiment, suggesting, "It looks like a technical issue. Nobody will be more surprised than Lewis. It's almost like the engine sort of stalled out, and every time he pulled another shift it's just locked the rear axle".

Ferrari had introduced a new rear suspension for the Belgian Grand Prix. However, Hamilton seemed unimpressed with the upgrade, shaking his head when asked if it had improved the SF-25's drivability. He had previously pointed out during the British Grand Prix that the SF-25 was undriveable.

Despite the setback, Hamilton remained somewhat optimistic, stating, "Tomorrow's a new day. Obviously, I'm massively frustrated. A lot of work has gone in and to be there is not great. Hopefully, tomorrow is going to be better".

Adding to Mercedes' woes, Kimi Antonelli also faced an early exit in SQ1 after an off at Turn 14. Antonelli, who was nearly two seconds off the pace, received an apology from his engineer for an issue related to the car's floor. Hamilton and Antonelli had previously secured the two sprint poles in 2025, in China and Miami, respectively.

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc, Hamilton's teammate, managed to place his Ferrari on the second row of the grid. However, he acknowledged that the 0.768-second gap to pole position indicated there was still significant work to be done. "The feeling was pretty good which, to me, it's a mixed feeling," Leclerc said. "On one side, I'm happy that the car feels better and, on the other, even if the car feels pretty good, we are still seven tenths off, which is a huge amount of time...We just need to add grip to this car at the end of the day".