Lewis Hamilton: 'I'm struggling with the car'

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he has been struggling with his Mercedes at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The 2008 world champion will start from ninth after picking up a five-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox.

The Briton told Sky Sports News: "We made some changes to the car but I am still struggling with it.

"We had some troubles on Friday with the car which we fixed and going in to qualifying it wasn't looking too bad but once in qualifying I knew immediately, from the very first lap, that it wasn't going to be good. It just wasn't positive for me.

"A big congratulations to [teammate] Nico [Rosberg], he did a fantastic job. It's great to see him doing so well and he is such a strong competitor, pushing the team, asking tons of questions, and driving really, really well. I was unable to match him today but, who knows, maybe we can catch him tomorrow."

Rosberg will start tomorrow's race from pole position after recording the fastest time in qualifying.