Hamilton: This is how it's going to be for the rest of the year

Hamilton continued to struggle with his Ferrari SF-25 and qualified seventh, while teammate Charles Leclerc qualified fourth and finished third.

That comes after Hamilton revealed, following the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix, that he has finally discovered how his SF-25 likes to be driven, which makes his form in Jeddah confusing and surprising.

Indeed, the seven-time Formula 1 champion was confused and downbeat after Sunday's race in Jeddah. He said: "Nothing positive to take, except for Charles finishing on the podium, which is great for the team.

"It was horrible, not enjoyable at all," he added. "I was just sliding around. I didn't have grip. First stint, massive understeer, car not turning and then massive deg. The second stint, slightly better balance but still just no pace. Pretty bad."

Hamilton won the Sprint Race in China, which gave hope for him and Ferrari, but has since struggled, and when asked why his form dropped, he responded: "I don't have any answers.

"At the moment there's no fix," he went on. "So, this is how it's going to be for the rest of the year. It's going to be painful."

What makes Hamilton more confused is the fact that his data is similar to Leclerc's and their setups are not massively different on a given race weekend, but the Briton ends up being slower.

He said: "He [Leclerc] has been driving this car for a long time, so he definitely knows it really well. There's plenty in the data, for sure. Honestly, it doesn't look massively different in the data. I just go slower through the corners.

"We do have slightly different set-ups. I have to look and see whether that set-up is the way the car likes to be. He and his side are definitely, obviously doing a better job.

"In qualifying, it's me extracting performance. In the race, I tried everything, and the car just didn't want to go quicker," Hamilton concluded.

Hamilton is currently seventh in the F1 drivers' championship. Leclerc is fifth.

(Quotes from Sky Sports F1)