Hamilton: I was in the middle of nowhere

Hamilton qualified fourth for the race but was handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Max Verstappen in qualifying.

And while he recovered to finish fifth, that was as good as it would get for the seven-time Formula 1 champion, who could not make any further advances in a race that was characterized by strange team tactics to get around the mandatory two-stop rule introduced this year to try and spice up the show.

Speaking after the race, Hamilton said: "I think from where I was, a three-place grid penalty moving forwards back to fifth, I think was decent—the best I could do.

"No, it was miserable," the Briton responded to the media when asked if the racing was enjoyable, adding: "The races here are generally, unless you're first and in the lead, even when you're in the lead, it's not that fun.

"Just a nice reward at the end, but other than that, anything but first is kind of empty."

Commenting on his lack of pace, Hamilton told Sky Sports F1:"For me, I was kind of in the middle of nowhere.

"Obviously I started with the penalty I had down in seventh, was obviously behind two cars for some time, and then managed to clear them, and then I was kind of just in no man's land after that. I think the gap was relatively big, and I wasn't racing anyone.

"I needed the Safety Car or something to come into play, but it didn't happen, so it was just pretty straightforward from there," he maintained.

Hamilton pointed out that the communication with his Ferrari pitwall was far from ideal, as at one point they told him to push only to ask him to pit moments later.

"The information wasn't exactly that clear; I didn't understand 'this is our race' [comment]," he claimed. "I didn't know what I was fighting for.

"Was I fighting for the next spot ahead or... but in actual fact when I look at the data, I wasn't anywhere near the other guys up front, so I used my tyres a lot in that moment, but I was so far away from them," he concluded.

Charles Leclerc in the sister Ferrari managed to finish second behind Norris. (Additional reporting by Agnes Carlier)