"I'm definitely not fast anymore," says seven-time world champion, after finishing the Sprint Shootout 0.399s off his teammate's pace.

Over the course of the season thus far, George Russell has out-qualified Hamilton 17 times in terms of the grands prix, 22 if you count the Shootouts, and is 9 points ahead in the driver standings. Both have won two races, though Hamilton's win in Belgium came after his teammate was disqualified.

Speaking after the Shootout, Hamilton, who joins Ferrari next season, was clearly disappointed.

"I'm just slow," he told F1TV. "Same every weekend... the car felt relatively decent, no issues, not really much more to say," he added.

Minded that the lack of performance isn't solely down to him, and that the car differs circuit to circuit, Hamilton, who has claimed a record 107 poles, said: "Who knows. I'm definitely not fast anymore.

"The long run pace didn't feel too bad," he added, "but when you're always back where I am it makes it almost impossible pretty much to be competing for wins from there.

"But that's the Sprint, I'll do what I can tomorrow."

While his race pace is close to that of his teammate, Hamilton has always admitted that the new generation of cars require a whole new style of driving, and as a result he struggles for single-lap pace.

Check out our Friday gallery from Qatar here.