Four races into the 2022 Formula One season and Lewis Hamilton already believes he's out of the running to claim a record-breaking eighth world championship this year.
The Mercedes driver finished an unlucky 13th and out of the points during Sunday's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, unfamiliar territory for someone who has claimed 103 Grand Prix victories, more than any other driver in F1 history.
Hamilton, who is seeking to break a tie with Michael Schumacher for the most drivers' titles, dropped to seventh in the standings by remaining idle with 28 points and is 58 back of championship leader Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.
"I’m out of the championship, for sure," Hamilton told Formula1.com. "There is no question about that. But I’ll still keep working as hard as I can, to try and pull it back together somehow."
It was Hamilton's worst result since Azerbaijan a year ago when he finished 15th although that was the result of a driving error as opposed to an uncompetitive car languishing in the midfield.
Hamilton said on his team radio prior to the start of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix that his engine wasn't running smoothly. It showed throughout the race as he remained stuck behind Williams Racing driver Alex Albon and AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly on a track where quality passing opportunities are hard to come. Hamilton also got held up a bit in the pits when Alpine's Esteban Ocon drove into him while exiting his box.
The lowest point of the day for Hamilton was when he was lapped by race leader and reigning world champion Max Verstappen, a far cry from when the two battled down to the wire for the title last season.
Prior to Sunday, the most recent time Hamilton had been lapped by the leader and finished outside of the points based on race pace was the 2009 British Grand Prix when he was still with McLaren.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff apologized to Hamilton on the radio after the race.
"Sorry for what you have needed to drive today, I know this is undrivable and not what we deserved to score as a result," Wolff said. "So, we'll move from there but this was a terrible race."
New regulations introduced this season have meant a more competitive field with Ferrari and Red Bull emerging as the early front-runners.
Hamilton finished third at the season-opener in Bahrain but has been outperformed by new teammate George Russell in the three events since. Russell, who made the jump from Williams Racing this year, has finished within the top five in all four races and earned a fourth-place result at Imola.
Verstappen took the checkered flag followed by teammate Sergio Perez to make it a 1-2 finish for Oracle Red Bull Racing. Lando Norris of McLaren finished third to round out the podium.
The F1 season continues with the inaugural Miami Grand Prix on May 8.
