Lewis Hamilton on ‘nightmare’ first F1 season at Ferrari

The 40-year-old has yet to post a top-three finish in 21 appearances for Ferrari since his much-hyped transfer from Mercedes at the start of the year

Lewis Hamilton has labelled his debut season for Ferrari as a “nightmare” after another chastening weekend, this time in Brazil.

Having only qualified 13th, Hamilton made a disastrous start, dropping to the back of the pack and was given a five-second penalty after a collision with Franco Colapinto on the opening lap.

Struggling with a broken floor, Hamilton retired midway through the race, bringing to an end a wretched day for Ferrari after Charles Leclerc’s retirement earlier in the race.

The 40-year-old is still without a podium in 21 grand prix starts for Ferrari and acknowledged his debut campaign, following his much-hyped move from Mercedes, has been way below his expectations.

Hamilton said: “This is a nightmare, and I’ve been living it for a while.

“The flip between the dream of driving for this amazing team, and then the nightmare of results that we’ve had, the ups and downs, it is challenging.

“This weekend has been disastrous and disappointing for everyone. I am trying to keep my head above water and remain positive.”

Hamilton trails teammate Leclerc, who was running third when he was taken out of the race, by 66 points in the world championship.

Lewis Hamilton is still without a podium in 21 races (Getty Images)

Hamilton admits his debut season at Ferrari has been a ‘nightmare’ (AP)

Hamilton continued: “Charles did a great job in qualifying, so there is some performance in that car.

“At this point, I have to believe there is something to come out of all these hardships that we have been going through. I am sure we are destined for something positive in the future.

“Maybe we are getting all our bad luck out of the way this year… who knows? We will not give up and we will come back fighting at the next race.”

Additional reporting by PA