Dejected Lewis Hamilton issues Ferrari concern after 'meaningless' recovery

Lewis Hamilton painted a dejected figure in the media pen following a "meaningless" recovery from 19th on the grid to finish the Las Vegas Grand Prix in 10th, with him issuing a real concern for Ferrari.

Hamilton qualified in last in Sin City but was promoted a position on the grid due to Yuki Tsunoda taking a pit lane start for a new power unit. 

It was Hamilton's worst qualifying performance of his F1 career on pure pace, as he had never previously qualified in last after setting a lap time.

The seven-time world champion did make a strong start and was in 12th by the end of the first lap, before making two further positions to score a point. However, Hamilton took no satisfaction from the recovery drive.

Asked if there was any satisfaction progressing to 10th from 19th on the grid, Hamilton replied to select media including RacingNews365: "Zero. Zero. The most meaningless nine places, it doesn't mean anything. It's still a bad weekend."

Due to Hamilton finishing in 10th and Charles Leclerc in sixth, Ferrari slipped further adrift of the fight for second in the constructors' standings. 

Max Verstappen claimed victory for Red Bull, whilst George Russell and Kimi Antonelli secured third and fifth, respectively. 

It has seen Ferrari fall 52 points behind second-placed Mercedes, and 20 points behind Red Bull. In Hamilton's mind, his performances are costing the Scuderia any chance of P2.

Discussing Ferrari's chances of second in the standings, Hamilton responded: "I don't even know how many points we have, but at this rate, with my performances, we don't."

It has been a difficult campaign for Hamilton which continues to worsen, although he does have two races remaining in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to try and claim a first podium for Ferrari.

Despite this, the 40-year-old has little hope for the remaining two rounds, saying: "I mean, I've had 22 bad weekends. So I anticipate another couple."