'Dejected' Lewis Hamilton receives worrying verdict over F1 form

Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok has voiced concern over the trend of Lewis Hamilton's performances at the start of his tenure at Ferrari.

With five rounds in the books, Hamilton sits seventh in the drivers' standings with a best grand prix result of fifth coming in Bahrain.

His highlight of the campaign to date came in China when he emerged victorious in the sprint race - however, the seven-time champion has had little to cheer about outside that result.

Chandhok pointed to a turning point in the head-to-head fight against team-mate Charles Leclerc and voiced worry over his declining form in qualifying.

“The worry for me is that it [China sprint performance] is now becoming the outlier,” Chandhok told the Sky F1 podcast. 

“Since the Sunday of China, where Leclerc got ahead of him in the race despite having a damaged front wing, Leclerc was quicker in the race.

“The trend is the worry for me. In Australia, Lewis was [two-tenths] off Charles. In Japan, it became three-tenths. In Bahrain it became .59. In Saudi, it became over six-tenths. The trend is going the wrong way.

“For a driver who we're hoping was getting more and more accustomed to life at Ferrari, that gap should have been closing down, but it's going the wrong way.”

Karun Chandhok gives reason for 'deflated' Lewis Hamilton attitude

Hamilton endured a difficult race last time out in Saudi Arabia as he crossed the line in seventh place, almost 40 seconds down on race winner Oscar Piastri.

The 40-year-old admitted after the race that the “pain” he endured could last the entirety of the upcoming campaign.

Chandhok detailed the depth of Hamilton's struggles goes beyond addressing a shortcoming in one particular area.

“In Saudi Arabia, he just looks so deflated,” he said. “At least in Bahrain, the race pace wasn't so bad. It wasn't six-tenths a lap in the race. 

“He was not that far away. The problem in Saudi Arabia was, it was 31 seconds across 50 laps, which is the same six-tenths, basically. So I think that's why he just looked dejected. 

“In Australia, we were looking at the data and it was only those sort of couple of corners, Turn 6, Turn 12, we thought, ’Okay, he's there everywhere else. Braking, he’s there. Ultra-high speed, he’s there. It's just those medium-to-high corners, he’s down. It's coming, it's going to happen’.

“But now the trend has gone where he’s just losing a bit everywhere. As a driver, psychologically, you're looking at the data going. ‘Where do I begin?’

“If it's just one type of corner, it's easier to focus on. He's now going, ‘I've got to look at the whole spectrum of types of corners’. That, I think is where it's psychologically why we're seeing him look so deflated.”