Lewis Hamilton exclaimed ‘I’m definitely not fast anymore’ after sprint qualifying in Qatar (Image: F1TV/YOUTUBE)
star admitted “I’m definitely not fast anymore” following a disappointing performance in sprint qualifying ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix. The 39-year-old will start the sprint race in seventh position after finishing 0.4 seconds behind ace , .
Hamilton also trailed his team-mate by a similar margin, with the former Williams driver set to begin Saturday’s sprint from the front row.
The seven-time world champion has only got the better of Russell in one of the six sprint qualifying sessions this year and has only posted a faster lap than him in five of the 17 main qualifying sessions.
Hamilton spoke to after sprint qualifying had come to an end in the Middle East. And he explained: “Same as every other quali, not that great. I’m just slow. Same every weekend. So… yeah, car felt relatively decent, no issues, not really much more to say.”
He was then quizzed about his chances in the sprint race and replied: “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.”
And after being told the underwhelming qualifying performances “can’t be a you thing”, Hamilton exclaimed: “Who knows. I’m definitely not fast anymore.”
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Lando Norris will start the sprint race on pole ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix (Image: GETTY)
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Hamilton’s comments could concern chiefs, with the ace set to join the Scuderia at the end of the season as he searches for a record eighth world title.
are currently locked in a battle with for this season’s Constructors’ Championship title and will be looking to kick-on again next year after naming Hamilton and Charles Leclerc as their driving team.
Meanwhile, former F1 star Romain Grosjean believes the dynamic between Hamilton and Leclerc could be hard to navigate anyway.
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“Charles is kind of the kids that they saw growing up there. So it’s not going to be easy to manage,” Grosjean told .
“Charles wants his chance to be world champion, and then Lewis wants the chance to get that eighth world championship that he should probably have had [already].
But Grosjean then conceded: “Lewis could have made the right move at the right time, for sure, joining Fred Vasseur at . ‘s definitely a team to keep an eye on – and they’re definitely on the rise for next year, which could be super exciting.”