Lewis Hamilton has candidly admitted he’s “definitely not fast anymore” after another underwhelming performance in sprint qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion could only manage seventh on the grid, finishing 0.4 seconds behind McLaren’s Lando Norris and significantly trailing his Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
Russell’s performance saw him secure a spot on the front row, outpacing Hamilton by a notable four-tenths of a second.
The result adds to Hamilton’s ongoing struggles in qualifying this season – a pattern he has yet to overcome in what is shaping up to be a challenging final year with Mercedes before his move to Ferrari next season.
Speaking to F1 TV after the session, Hamilton summarised his qualifying effort with uncharacteristic bluntness: “Same as every other quali, not that great,” he said.
“I’m just slow. Same every weekend. So… yeah, car felt relatively decent, no issues, not really much more to say.
Lewis reacts to another disappointing qualifying session 😞 pic.twitter.com/XQTMyTctAP
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) NOVEMBER 29, 2024
“The long run didn’t feel too bad but when you’re always back where I am it makes it almost impossible pretty much to be competing for wins from there.
“But that’s the sprint, I’ll do what I can tomorrow.
“The positive is the car is fast. And, George should be able to shoot for pole tomorrow.”
A light moment in the interview occurred when the interviewer suggested the problem wasn’t with Hamilton: “We know this isn’t a you thing…”
After initially mishearing, Hamilton responded with self-deprecating humour when the interviewer clarified the question: “Who knows. I’m definitely not fast anymore.”
The statistics reflect Hamilton’s struggles in his head-to-head qualifying battle with Russell.
Over the season, Russell leads 17-5 in conventional qualifying and 5-1 in sprint weekends.
Despite flashes of speed earlier in sessions, Hamilton often falters in Q3, as seen in his recent effort at Las Vegas.
In Qatar’s sprint qualifying, however, Hamilton didn’t seem to find Russell’s pace at any stage, underscoring the widening performance gap as his final year with Mercedes winds down.
