It鈥檚 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 鈥渕essed up鈥� car combined in another miserable race as his record-breaking partnership with Mercedes nears a frustrating end.

He鈥檒l have his last race with Mercedes in Abu Dhabi next weekend before joining Ferrari.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e going to end up on a high,鈥� Hamilton said Sunday about that race. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 important is how we turn up. We give it our best shot, and I don鈥檛 anticipate a particularly much better weekend than we鈥檝e had in the past weekends, but I鈥檒l try.鈥�

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. 鈥淭he car is messed up, mate,鈥� he told the team over the radio.

Hamilton then had a puncture that caused a shower of sparks from the Mercedes鈥� floor, and another penalty, this time for speeding in the pit lane.

After an 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 . Since then, though, Hamilton has struggled to keep pace with Russell.

Qualifying has been Hamilton鈥檚 biggest problem, forcing him to try to make up places on race day.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e always back where I am (on the grid), it makes it very hard, almost impossible, to be competing for wins,鈥� he said Friday.

The seven-time champion hasn鈥檛 offered a clear explanation for the recent results and said he was 鈥渄efinitely not fast any more鈥� on Friday in Qatar after repeated struggles in qualifying.

One person who doesn鈥檛 share those concerns is Hamilton鈥檚 future boss. Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur pointed to Hamilton鈥檚 encouraging drive in Las Vegas as a sign that the 39-year-old star hasn鈥檛 lost his edge.

鈥淗ave 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,鈥� Vasseur said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not worried at all.鈥�