The 40-year-old seven-time world champion struggled throughout the sprint qualifying session and was eliminated after the first segment, trudging back to the Ferrari pits without removing his helmet.

He has already set an unwanted record at Ferrari by going 22 races without a podium finish in his first season with the team following his unexpected switch from Mercedes last year.

He reported on team radio that his car "couldn't go any quicker" despite an overhaul of his set-up and a switch to a high-downforce rear wing in a bid to find more performance at the high-downforce high-grip Lusail International Circuit north of Doha.

It was his second consecutive Q1 exit and followed the humiliation of qualifying 20th and last in Las Vegas for the first time in his career two weeks earlier.

In a brief interview with Sky Sports F1, he was asked what made his car so difficult to drive and replied: "Same as always."

Asked next if the changes made to the car had made any difference, he said: "No, clearly not."

Finally, asked if he could take any positives from the session, he responded: "The weather's nice."

His team-mate Charles Leclerc also struggled and qualified ninth.

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