Lewis Hamilton’s rasping reaction was caught on camera during the qualifying session of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as the Mercedes star’s woes continued into the second raceweek.
A hand gesture made by the seven-time world champion was caught by the camera crew after it appeared like he had been held up by Aston Martin on his hot lap.
Hamilton was forced to run wide after getting caught up with the AMR23 in the run-up to the quick right-hander at turn 15.
Just to emphasise how frustrated he was after seeing what had just transpired, he aborted the lap.
However, he made his feelings extremely clear to everyone by flicking his hands in annoyance.
Communicating on the team radio, he complained about the heavy traffic on a tight street circuit.
His race engineer Peter Bonnington, popularly called Bono, said, “Copy. Yeah, very busy now.”
Hamilton has happy memories at Jeddah, having won the 2021 Grand Prix at the venue.
But that sense of positivity would now seem like an alien feeling to him in a Mercedes car that doesn’t seem capable of matching Red Bull.
As things transpired on Saturday afternoon, Hamilton finished fifth fastest, but more alarmingly, he was one second slower than Max Verstappen’s Red Bull per lap.
Hamilton explained the dismal state of affairs early in the season.
He said: “I struggled in both sessions today, but we completed the run programme we had and tried to learn as much as possible.
“We will continue to go into the details overnight and focus on improving the balance of the car to make it easier to drive.”
Hamilton may have had his troubles, but he wasn’t the only driver to experience difficulties due to traffic.
Verstappen lashed out at race engineer Gianpaiero Lambiase after a close shave with McLaren driver Lando Norris at the end of sector one.
Max used a swear word to vent his frustration. Lambiase simply said: “Apologies.”