Hamilton asserts confidence despite challenging Qatar Grand Prix qualifying

The Qatar Grand Prix is available for live broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live, the BBC Sport website, and its application. Lewis Hamilton stated he “still got it” following a disappointing qualifying session at the Qatar Grand Prix. Hamilton is set to commence Sunday’s race from sixth position, having recorded a lap time 0.436 seconds slower than his team-mate George Russell, who secured pole position. Russell initially qualified second behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen but was elevated to pole after Verstappen incurred a one-place grid penalty for driving too slowly and obstructing the Mercedes. Hamilton commented, “Just the car won’t go any faster. I definitely know I’ve got it still. It’s not a question in my mind.” Hamilton, who holds the all-time Formula 1 record for pole positions, has been outqualified by Russell in grand prix qualifying sessions this year by a margin of 18-5. This disparity increases to 22-6 when including all six qualifying sessions for sprint events. Hamilton expressed his inability to account for his struggle to match Russell’s single-lap pace this season. He remarked, “I’m slow. I’m half a second off my team-mate in the same car. It wasn’t a tricky session. My laps were pretty decent, just half a second off. I set my car up a little bit different today and honestly the car felt great. It is the first time we have made a set-up change and the car felt good. My laps are generally really good and I come across the line and that’s half a second down.” He further added, “[I’m] looking forward to the end [of the season].” Hamilton’s comments follow his statement a day prior, after qualifying for the Qatar sprint event, where he claimed he was “definitely not fast any more”. Hamilton is scheduled to depart Mercedes at the conclusion of 2024, after 12 years with the team, to join Ferrari. Russell indicated his expectation of a tight contest among the leading four teams in the grand prix, scheduled to begin at 16:00 GMT. The McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the latter having won the sprint event in Qatar, will occupy the second row. Hamilton, in sixth, will start between the Ferraris of his future team-mate Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Russell stated: “It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be a really close fight between all four teams. Ferrari looked on the same pace as Lando and myself this morning. McLaren have more options on the strategy with two cars but their race is with Ferrari not us and Max. It is an amazing circuit and I just can’t wait to go racing.” McLaren has the opportunity to secure the constructors’ championship for the first time since 1998 if their cars finish first and second, along with earning the point for the fastest lap. Piastri secured victory in Saturday’s sprint race after Norris allowed him to take the win on the approach to the finish line. Norris had maintained control of the field throughout the event, ensuring Piastri benefited from the DRS overtaking aid, keeping him just far enough ahead of Russell to prevent the Mercedes driver from passing. Norris commented: “I’m not that confident [for the grand prix]. George was quicker than us in the sprint race, we are not as quick as the Mercedes which will make our life very difficult tomorrow. I don’t expect anything special. I think the clean air that I had earlier today [in the sprint] made us look probably a bit better than we were. I don’t think we’ve necessarily been the quickest to be honest this weekend. I think Mercedes have. So expecting a tough battle and excited to see what we can do. I would like to give the guys ahead a little battle and of course go forward. Our target would be to try and win the race but these two guys [Verstappen and Russell] are probably going to make my life pretty tough tomorrow.”