Lewis Hamilton details Ferrari struggles on difficult opening day

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he is struggling for "consistency" at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, on the opening day of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. 

The seven-time world champion endured a Friday to forget after ending second practice down in 13th on the timesheets. 

Hamilton was 1.2s adrift of pacesetter Lando Norris and an alarming eight-tenths slower than Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, who managed to end second practice in fourth. 

Leclerc again had a clear advantage over the 105-time race winner, who struggled to perform across an entire lap. 

Hamilton also escaped punishment for impeding Alex Albon who took avoiding action at high-speed, with it not having been deemed as a dangerous incident. 

With the exception of his sprint pole and victory in China, it has been a difficult start to the season for Hamilton who has scored just 25 points. 

Remarkably, the Briton has only claimed one podium in Saudi Arabia, and that was in 2021 when he defeated Max Verstappen in a ferocious battle to claim victory. 

A win or even a podium looks very unlikely, with Hamilton recognising that his side of the Ferrari garage has work to do.

"It was a challenging day," said Hamilton. "We’re still chasing the right balance between the front and rear axles, and I’m struggling a bit with consistency across the lap at this stage.

"There’s work to do tonight, but the team’s fully focused and we’ll keep pushing to find the improvements we need."