Lewis Hamilton’s last race with Mercedes is off to a disappointing start with the qualifying runs. Heading into the race weekend in Abu Dhabi, the 7-time champ was hoping to leave his team with one final podium. He looked really good during the practice runs, and his car had the pace to go the extra mile in the qualifying rounds.

But, just when things started to fall Hamilton’s way, he was struck by a bollard. And that was it; his qualifying run ended in Q1, finishing 18th. He was just a tenth slower than the 15th-place car. Hamilton owned up to his mistake and stated, “Yeah, I messed that up big time, guys. F–k! That was bad, man.” However, the bollard he hit during his run wasn’t in the right place.

As it turns out, it was Kevin Magnussen who ripped the bollard on his lap in the final sector. Lewis Hamilton didn’t want to interfere with the traffic coming behind him, and he slowed down for Liam Lawson, who thankfully didn’t make contact with either car on the final corner. This certainly was a huge blow to the star driver and his hopes of finishing his last race on a high.

Reflecting on the incident that hampered his qualifying run, Hamilton said, “I mean, you couldn’t have timed it more perfectly—that bollard. I was really hopeful. I really thought that we had a chance at getting a podium. The car was feeling good, but it wasn’t meant to be in the end. I know I did everything right, and I’m confident that I’ve taken the right steps this weekend. We’ll try and fight from there.”

From the outside looking in, it feels as if this whole scenario was just an unfortunate event, and Hamilton found himself on the bitter end of it. However, the fans tried to connect the dots in proving a conspiracy theory with Kevin Magnussen painted as a real culprit behind this qualifying incident. Perhaps these are the jitters that Hamilton is still facing after his heartbreaking loss against Max Verstappen in 2021. Well, fans certainly didn’t hold back with their comments on the incident.

Kevin Magnussen had a hidden agenda in spoiling Hamilton’s qualifying run

How things have changed since Magnussen disrespected Niko Hulkenberg with a “Suck my b—a” comment in Budapest. Well, since that incident, the two have been teammates at the MoneyGram Haas F1 team, and it looks like Magnussen was trying his best to help his teammate. Like Hamilton, Hulkenberg is also jumping ships and is going to join Sauber at the end of 2024. And going by the comments of this fan, it feels that his teammate was trying to gift him a pole win before departing. “Kmag continues on his quest to eliminate the other 18 drivers in order to get Hulk his first podium and win.”

Upon viewing the replays, it was clearly visible that Kevin Magnussen was struggling to get going after failing to make the corner. Just when he fired off, he came to his senses about the traffic behind him, and in desperate attempts to avoid a collision, he made a sharp turn towards the inside wall. This was the reason why the bollard was misplaced and it ended up beneath Hamilton’s car. But fans linked this series of events to Nintendo’s auto-racing game, “Magnussen on Mario kart.”

Well, one fan on Instagram asked a genuine and logical question. What utility does a bollard provide in the era of high-speed cameras and sensors? The track limits are anyways determined by the race control, who have all the resources to make a split-second decision. Had the bollard not been placed across the track, this situation could’ve been avoided entirely. “What’s the actual point if the bollard anyways?”

Now it is hard to say if the Haas driver intentionally removed the bollard intending to hamper Hamilton’s run. However, emotions are running high within his fan base as they are desperate to see Hamilton sign off on a good note. Therefore, reacting to their favorite driver’s misery from the qualifying run, a fan commented, “Magnussen deserves to be disqualified, but of course stewards aren’t going to do anything.”

Since 2021, Mercedes has just lost their edge. While Red Bull has established itself as the top team, the likes of McLaren and Ferrari are the ones going against them. This slump has hindered Lewis Hamilton’s winning habit as well. Since the bitter loss of 2021, he’s only emerged victorious twice; both of those wins came this year. And the fans desperately hoping for a miracle to see their favorite driver stand on top of the podium for one last time in Mercedes colors. “Give him the car he wants 1 last time and watch that Hammer time!!!!”

With the driver penalties, Hamilton will start the race in P16. But despite this jump of two spots, it is hard to see him take the win in his final race with Mercedes.