Hamilton refuses to give fans false hopes

Champ Hamilton admits tough road ahead in Melbourne and beyond

Hamilton refuses to give fans false hopes

Champ Hamilton admits tough road ahead in Melbourne and beyond

Lewis Hamilton

The enormity of McLaren's problems hit home, and although they had prepared the groundwork a month ago by announcing they were nowhere near quick enough, what transpired in Melbourne was still a shock.

In his 105 practice sessions since arriving in Formula One with a bang, Hamilton has only once previously finished lower than he did around Melbourne's Albert Park.

That was in Saturday practice at last season's Italian Grand Prix when he propped up the timesheets, and then only because of heavy rain that hit at Monza.

Put in context, Hamilton has never suffered a practice day as bad as he did yesterday, finishing 16th and 18th at the end of the two 90-minute sessions.

The aerodynamic issues that dogged the cars during winter testing have yet to be resolved, although the work being put in to do so cannot be faulted.

For now, it is a question of soldiering on and hoping for the best, although when that will materialise is anybody's guess.

"Being at the back is tough for anyone," said Hamilton, who ended the day 1.8 seconds down on Williams' Nico Rosberg.

"But we've a lot of experience as a team, and personally I've a lot of experience of running at the back in other categories, so it's not completely new to me.

"We're clearly not in the place where we would love to be, but we're working extremely hard, as hard as we can.

"We've a steep, very tough challenge ahead of us, but if anyone can do it, I believe my team can.

"We've just got to remain positive and keep pushing."

At one point during the day, Hamilton was heard over the team radio complaining about his car "bottoming out" and being "difficult to drive", emphasising his problems.

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