Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton admitted that he is &ldquo;definitely not fast anymore&rdquo; after finishing seventh in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint qualifying on November 29.&nbsp;
Hamilton, who is in his final season at Mercedes, was 0.399 seconds slower than teammate George Russell, who will start the sprint race second behind McLaren's Lando Norris.
&ldquo;Same as every other qualifying&mdash;not that great. I&rsquo;m just slow. Same every weekend. Car felt relatively decent. You know, no issues. Not really much more to say,&rdquo; Hamilton said after the qualifying.
Hamilton holds the all-time record for F1 pole positions with 104, well ahead of Michael Schumacher&rsquo;s 68. However, in his recent pairing with teammate Russell, Hamilton has faced challenges. Over 22 races, including six sprint events, Hamilton has out-qualified Russell just six times. Excluding sprint sessions, the qualifying record stands at 5-17 in Russell&rsquo;s favour, with an average 0.16-second advantage per lap for Russell this season.
Until teaming up with Russell, Hamilton had never been consistently out-qualified by a teammate. Reflecting on this, Hamilton commented humorously: &ldquo;Who knows? I'm definitely not fast anymore.&rdquo;
Friday&rsquo;s qualifying set the sprint race grid for Saturday, followed by another session to determine the grand prix line-up. Despite setbacks, Hamilton remains optimistic, noting the car&rsquo;s pace and backing Russell to contend for the pole.
&ldquo;When you are always back where I am it makes it almost impossible to compete for wins from there. But that&rsquo;s the sprint. I'll do what I can tomorrow.&rdquo;
Asked whether there were any positives, Hamilton added: &ldquo;Not particularly. The positive is the car is fast and George should be able to shoot for pole tomorrow.&rdquo;
&mdash;IANS

Over 22 races, including six sprint events, Hamilton has out-qualified Russell just six times

Seven-time champ places 7th in Qatar GP sprint qualifying, overshadowed by teammate George Russell

'Definitely Not Fast Any More' Hamilton Admits

Seven-time champ places 7th in Qatar GP sprint qualifying, overshadowed by teammate George Russell

November 30, 2024 | 13:22 IST