Lewis Hamilton said he is “fighting against factors that are out of my control” as his qualifying struggles continued at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Hamilton was left in despondent mood after finishing seventh in Friday’s Sprint Qualifying, five places and a considerable four tenths of a second behind his Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
After a strong start helped him to sixth in the Sprint, Hamilton was once more left frustrated later on Saturday in Grand Prix Qualifying as he claimed sixth, with Russell once more in second and an even greater chunk of time clear.
Hamilton, who is leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari at the end of the season, admitted he was glad that next weekend’s season finale in Abu Dhabi will be his final qualifying session in the W15.
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Qualifying highlights from the Qatar Grand Prix.
“I can’t explain why I’m half a second behind my team-mate,” the seven-time world champion told Sky Sports F1 after qualifying on Saturday. “That’s never happened in my career, so I can’t explain that.
“What I can say is the car felt genuinely fine for me. There’s not really much more I can add. I’ve given it absolutely anything and the car feels good but it’s slow.”
Russell, who won last weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix from Hamilton, now holds a 23-6 advantage over his team-mate across both qualifying formats this season.
Hamilton had said on Friday evening that he was “definitely not fast anymore”, and was asked by Sky Sports F1 after Saturday’s Sprint to clarify his comments.
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Following struggling in sprint qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton admits his car is not the problem and that he is ‘just slow’.
“I’m not trying to say anything. That’s how I felt on Friday. I wake up and give it another try the next day,” he said.
“I haven’t felt great in the car all year. The most inconsistent car I would say all year just in terms of all year up and down balance.
“Nothing we have done has fixed that. I know I have the ability still and I know I’m still fast and I’m fighting against factors that are out of my control.
“I’m looking forward to the end of next week because, yeah, and move forwards.”
What did Hamilton’s ‘cryptic’ comments mean?
Sky Sports F1’s Anthony Davidson questioned whether the “factors” Hamilton alluded to were something technical on the car, or a reference to the 39-year-old admitting his skills are on the decline.
Davidson said: “A little bit cryptic really. I can’t quite work out what he means.
“Either technically with the car, a car that he hasn’t had a handle on since the 2021 era, that generation of cars. He clearly hasn’t had the performance in qualifying against George most of the time in these new cars.
“Or, dare I say, he’s talking about age. It’s cryptic.
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Watch future teammates Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc go wheel-to-wheel in the Qatar GP Sprint.
“I’ve been through that myself as a driver. I’m now retired, I’m 45, I’m further down the road than he is. But I felt my speed go as a driver.
“The first thing that left me was qualifying. It just didn’t happen anymore. The next thing that happened were silly errors that just kept cropping up for me. I think that’s the time I felt as a driver to hang my helmet up.”
Sky Sports F1’s Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, backed his former team-mate to bounce back from the disappointment.
Button said: “It’s sad to see the way he’s so deflated. I know Lewis pretty well and he bounces back pretty quickly.
“The last three races have been really tough and it does spiral. This is a mental game. All of these drivers have super talent, especially Lewis, but when your head is not in the game, it doesn’t work.”
Sky Sports F1’s live Qatar GP schedule
Sunday December 1
10.55am: F1 Academy Race Two
12.15pm: F2 Feature Race
2.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Qatar GP build-up
4pm: THE QATAR GRAND PRIX
6pm: Chequered Flag: Qatar GP reaction
7pm: Ted’s Notebook
Formula 1’s season-ending triple-header continues this weekend with the Qatar Grand Prix, live on Sky Sports F1. Get Sky Sports F1 or stream with NOW
