I definitely know I’ve got it – Lewis Hamilton insists he can still compete

Lewis Hamilton insisted “it is not a question in my mind that I definitely still have it” after he qualified sixth for the penultimate round of his Mercedes career.

Hamilton, who is moving to Ferrari next season, raised question marks about his future in Formula One when he claimed he “is not fast anymore” at this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion’s comments arrived after he qualified only seventh for the sprint race – 0.399 sec slower than George Russell in the other Mercedes – in Doha on Friday night.

Hamilton made up one place to finish sixth in the 19-lap dash to the flag, and then was sixth again – this time even further behind Russell with the gap standing at 0.436 sec – in qualifying for Sunday’s main event.

The 39-year-old, whose 104 poles ensures he is the greatest one-lap performer the sport has ever seen, has now been beaten by Russell in 23 of the 29 qualifying sessions this season.

And although Hamilton admitted he is now “looking forward to the end of his career” with the team which has carried him to six of his record-equalling seven world titles, he added: “I know I’ve still got it.

“It’s just the car won’t go faster. But I definitely know I’ve got it. It is not a question in my mind.”

Attempting to explain his comments 24 hours previously, Hamilton said: “I am slow, about half-a-second off my team-mate in the same car.”

Asked if he was referring to this weekend, Hamilton replied: “No, it has been all year.”

And why is he slow? “I don’t know,” replied Hamilton. “It is not possible to change it.”

With Hamilton struggling, Russell, a winner in Las Vegas, put his Mercedes on the front row, initially second to Max Verstappen after the newly-crowned four-time world champion looked to have claimed his first pole position since the Austrian Grand Prix, exactly five months ago.

Verstappen started sixth and finished only eighth in the earlier sprint race won by Oscar Piastri as McLaren edged closer to their first constructors’ title in 26 years.

But the Dutch driver returned to form in qualifying for the main event, only to later be penalised one place for impeding Russell as both drivers geared up for their final laps, giving top spot to the Mercedes man.

Lando Norris, who handed victory to team-mate Piastriz in the sprint – with McLaren securing a one-two finish to move 30 points clear of Ferrari – took third.

Piastri finished fourth to ensure both McLarens will start ahead of Ferrari. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz qualified fifth and seventh respectively for the Italian team.

Norris controlled the sprint before moving aside for Piastri at the final corner – the British driver returning the favour after they traded positions in Sao Paulo.

Then Norris still harboured ambitions of claiming the drivers’ crown. But, with the individual title off the table, Norris’ sole focus is on delivering a ninth crown for McLaren to put them level with Williams in second place.

Ferrari lead the way with 16 titles, but the Italians are also in a drought with their last triumph back in 2008.

Norris aborted both his first and second laps in Q3 and then did not have the speed to match Verstappen and Russell.

However, it remains advantage McLaren and they will secure the constructors’ crown on Sunday with one round remaining if they outscore Ferrari by 15 points.

Verstappen has won in just one of his 12 previous appearances and would not have expected to even be in the fight for pole.

“It is a crazy turnaround,” said Verstappen. “I didn’t expect that. Well done to the team for giving me a car that is more connected.

“We changed some bits on the car, but I never thought it would make such a swing in performance. That is encouraging and I hope it continues into the race.”