Hamilton seeks traces of light on another dark day

By Alan Baldwin SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton struggled to describe his feelings after the body blow of an engine failure in Russian Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday, but 'numb' did not cover it. "No. I definitely feel what I am feeling," the Mercedes driver told reporters when the word was offered up as a suggestion. "You are almost helpless... we've worked so hard, my engineers and my mechanics, to get the car in a great position this weekend. We had great pace once again and then this happens for us all unexpectedly. "The goal is moving further and further away in the distance and I'm doing everything I can do." Hamilton, 36 points behind team mate Nico Rosberg after three wins in three races for the German this season, was ruled out of the final phase of qualifying and will start 10th on Sunday. The team said the failure was the same as one that ruled Hamilton out of qualifying in China two weeks ago. With Mercedes again dominant at the track that winds around the 2014 Winter Olympic Park, Rosberg starts on pole position as favorite for what will be a seventh successive victory including three wins at the end of 2015. Hamilton, who has had a series of first-lap incidents this season as well as poor starts, had been fastest in practice but he said he did not feel angry or sad with the latest setback. "I don’t know if I believe in good luck and bad luck. There is a logical reason most things happen," he said, not even in the mood to take a quick Snapchat picture of his audience as is his habit in more upbeat moments. "I can't really describe how I feel at the moment but it's not a great feeling." There are 17 races remaining after Sochi but Rosberg is building momentum and reducing the lead will not be easy. "There's a still a long way to go," Hamilton said when asked whether he was beginning to get the feeling that this might not be his year. "Trying to turn the negatives into positives, this is another big challenge and the challenge is becoming greater. "Every challenge is an opportunity to rise, so I quite like that approach... even when it seems like its the darkest of days, there's always some light there and as long as you focus on that there will be a brighter day up ahead. That's how I feel." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)