LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — It's not often Lewis Hamilton is tempted to give up in Formula 1.
He nearly did just that Sunday, discussing with his Mercedes team over the radio whether it would be best to retire the car as his Qatar Grand Prix went from bad to worse.
Hamilton eventually decided to carry on the race but finished a lowly 12th. Two penalties, a puncture and a “messed up” car combined in another miserable race as his record-breaking partnership with Mercedes nears a frustrating end.
He'll have his last race with Mercedes in Abu Dhabi next weekend before joining Ferrari.
“I don’t think we’re going to end up on a high," Hamilton said Sunday about that race. “What’s important is how we turn up. We give it our best shot, and I don’t anticipate a particularly much better weekend than we’ve had in the past weekends, but I'll try."
Hamilton has placed behind his teammate George Russell in the last five races, including sprints. After an encouraging second place in Las Vegas last week, when Russell won, almost everything that could go wrong did Sunday.
Hamilton jumped the start and got a penalty. He had setup issues with the Mercedes that made it hard to turn. “The car is messed up, mate,” he told the team over the radio.
Hamilton then had a puncture that caused a shower of sparks from the Mercedes' floor, and another penalty, this time for speeding in the pit lane.
After an emotional victory at his home British Grand Prix in July ended a 945-day wait for a win, Hamilton took another win at the Belgian Grand Prix when his teammate George Russell finished first but was disqualified. Since then, though, Hamilton has struggled to keep pace with Russell.
Qualifying has been Hamilton’s biggest problem, forcing him to try to make up places on race day.
“When you’re always back where I am (on the grid), it makes it very hard, almost impossible, to be competing for wins,” he said Friday.
The seven-time champion hasn't offered a clear explanation for the recent results and said he was “definitely not fast any more” on Friday in Qatar after repeated struggles in qualifying.
One person who doesn't share those concerns is Hamilton's future boss. Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur pointed to Hamilton's encouraging drive in Las Vegas as a sign that the 39-year-old star hasn't lost his edge.
"Have a look at the 50 laps that he did in Vegas starting from P10 (on the grid) and finishing (on) the gearbox of (race winner) Russell," Vasseur said. "I’m not worried at all."
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain in action during the Qatar Formula One Grand Prix at the Lusail International Circuit in Lusail, Qatar, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain in action during the Qatar Formula One Grand Prix at the Lusail International Circuit in Lusail, Qatar, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
TORONTO (AP) — Canada's ambassador to the United States said Sunday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was successful in getting President-elect Donald Trump and key Cabinet nominees to understand that lumping Canada in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the U.S. is unfair.
Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador in Washington, told The Associated Press in an interview that Trudeau's dinner with Trump on Friday was a very important step in trying to get Trump to back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner.
Hillman was at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and sat at an adjacent table to Trudeau and Trump.
Trump threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if they don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders. He said in a social media post last Monday he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders.
Hillman said Trudeau asked to see Trump in person in a phone call Monday and Trump invited him to dinner on Friday.
At the dinner, Hillman said the case was made to Trump that there is no comparison between the Canada-U.S. border and Mexico-U.S. border.
“The message that our border is so vastly different than the Mexican border was really understood,” Hillman said.
Hillman said the bulk of Friday night's dinner centered around Trump's border concerns. The ambassador said a priority of Trudeau's was to point out the degree of difference.
Hillman said there really is no comparison, noting there is essentially zero trafficking of fentanyl from Canada to the United States. She said there are seizures but authorities say those are personal use seizures and not criminal trafficking. She said that 99.8% of the fentanyl seized by U.S. authorities in the U.S. comes from Mexico.
“Also with respect to individuals, illegal individuals crossing illegally, Canada last year was less than one percent, 0.6 percent were of total interceptions from Canada,” Hillman said.
U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests at the Mexican border in October alone and 23,721 arrests at the Canadian border between October 2023 and September 2024 — and Hillman said the migrant numbers are coming down since the summer.
“The facts are hard to deny,” Hillman said.
But Hillman said Canada is ready to make new investments in border security and there are plans for more helicopters, drones and law enforcement officers.
She also noted an agreement between Canada and the United States that allows for migrants caught crossing illegally into the United States to be sent back to Canada. She said that was talked about. She said Mexico and the U.S. do not have a similar agreement.
At the dinner that lasted three hours, Hillman said America's trade deficit with Canada was also raised. Hillman said the U.S. had a $75 billion trade deficit with Canada last year but noted a third of what Canada sells into the U.S. are energy exports and prices have been high.
“Trade balances are something that he focuses so it’s important to engage in that conversation but to put it into context," Hillman said.
“We are one tenth the size of the United States so a balanced trade deal would mean per capita we are buying 10 times more from the U.S. than they are buying from us. If that’s his metric we will certainly engage on that."
Joining Trump and Trudeau at dinner were Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department and be energy czar, Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice to be his national security adviser, and the three men’s wives.
Also at the dinner were David McCormick, just elected U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, and his wife, Dina Powell, a former deputy national security adviser under Trump, as well as Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities include border security, and Katie Telford, Trudeau’s chief of staff.
Hillman said Canadian and incoming Trump administration officials will work on Trump's concerns in the coming weeks. Trump called the talks “productive” on Sunday in a social media post but signaled no retreat from his tariff pledge.
Hillman said Trump and Trudeau "get along well" and the dinner was also a chance to socialize. She said Trump used his iPad to play music and she said Trump told Trudeau he's a big fan of Canadian singer Celine Dion
“I don’t think it could have been better to be frank. Okay, I’ll take that back, I’ll change that. If he obviously said there would be no tariffs that would have been better but there was no realistic expectation of that,” Hillman said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks through the lobby of the Delta Hotel by Marriott, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau briefly speaks to media as he walks through the lobby of the Delta Hotel by Marriott, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks through the lobby of the Delta Hotel by Marriott, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
FILE - President Donald Trump greets Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau upon his arrival at the White House, June 20, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at an event where it was announced that Prince Edward Island has signed on to the Federal School food program, in Mount Stewart, Prince Edward Island, Canada, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (Ron Ward/The Canadian Press via AP)
