Hamilton: I know I've still got it

The seven-time Formula 1 world champion, who will be 40 next year when he moves to Ferrari, had said after qualifying seventh for the sprint at Lusail on Friday that he was "definitely not fast any more".

He repeated that verdict to reporters after the main qualifying session, with Russell on the front row, but in a slightly more positive way.

"I know I've still got it," he said. "It's just the car won't go any faster, I definitely know I've got it. It's not a question in my mind. Looking forward to the end (of the season)."

The most successful driver in the history of the sport with a record 105 wins has triumphed twice this season but Russell, second on the grid in Qatar behind four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen, has out-qualified him 18-5.

"I'm slow. About half a second off my team-mate in the same car. It's been all year," he added, saying he did not know why that was.

"It's not possible to change it right now," the Briton pointed out.

Despite his positive U-turn, Hamilton did not have a good Qatar Grand Prix as after starting from sixth on the grid, Hamilton finished the race in 12th after getting two penalties; the first for a false start with the other for speeding in the pitlane. He also suffered from a puncture due to debris on the track.

Speaking in Mercedes' race report, Hamilton said: "It was a pretty bad race for me overall, but these things happen.

"It started off badly with my false start which was my fault and resulted in a penalty which I served during my stop. Then I had the puncture which was just unfortunate, followed by the pitlane speeding which was on me, too.

"The car had a lot of understeer today because we didn't have enough front wing in the setup. I gave it my best shot, but it all seemed to go downhill from the start.

"This race weekend hasn't been great," Hamilton went on, "but we have another week next week where we can try and finish a bit better and I hope we do have a better result.

"These last races don't have an impact on all of the great things we have done together as a Team. Races are a rollercoaster ride of emotions, I've had great races in my life and bad races too.

"Ultimately, it's not how you fall it's how you get back up and we will try again next week," the winner of 105 F1 races concluded.

The season ends in Abu Dhabi on December 8, with Hamilton contracted to Mercedes until the end of the year and facing sponsor commitments before he can start at Maranello.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, Additional reporting by GrandPrix247)