Hamilton downbeat after 'tough' race

Lewis Hamilton admitted his performance at the rain-hit Chinese Grand Prix was one of his worst ever drives in the wet.

The 24-year-old traditionally thrives in wet conditions but struggled in Shanghai today, coming off the circuit five times on his way to sixth at the chequered flag.

The three-point haul is nevertheless a positive result for the McLaren driver after troubled times off the circuit in recent weeks, but Hamilton knows there is still plenty of work to do if he is to have any hope of defending his world title.

“I love racing in the wet and I would say that was one of my worst wet performances,” he said.

“I generally have good wet races but this was incredibly tough.

“I didn’t have any downforce on this car and it was a real struggle but I am glad I got some points for the team.”

Hamilton climbed as high as fourth at one stage but his struggles increased as the race went on, with the Stevenage man blaming deteriorating tyres for his dip in performance.

“It didn’t work out for me today,” he continued.

“All weekend I have been pushing that car beyond its limits but today just proved that I wasn’t able to avoid the oversteer moments.

“It was a little bit fun at the beginning when I had some grip but as always I don’t know if it is my driving style or my car, but I seem to destroy my tyres early on.”

The result means Hamilton now has four points and trails championship leader Jenson Button by 17.

“We will continue to try and move forward and try and score some more points,” Hamilton added.

“We will keep pushing.”

With Hamilton’s team-mate Heikki Kovalainen in the points for the first time this season after coming home fifth, McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh was in upbeat mood after the race.

“Lewis pressed hard all afternoon and, when you do that, occasionally you run wide or spin,” Whitmarsh said. “Lewis duly did so but in truth his was a great drive.

“It was an encouraging result, getting two cars into the points shows that we are making good progress.”