Lewis Hamilton has described his season so far as "painful" following two poor starts which have cost him potential victories.
The Mercedes driver qualified on pole at both the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and this weekend's Bahrain GP, but slow starts have left him fighting to get back on terms with team-mate Nico Rosberg who has gone on to win both races.
Hamilton meanwhile finished third in Bahrain after contact with Valtteri Bottas dropped him to seventh.
"Two separate incidents, but both equally as painful I would say, perhaps this one today a little bit more painful," said Hamilton after the race. "Nonetheless, we still managed to get back up there and got some points. Damage limitation.
"I’m glad that it wasn’t more points [that I lost], obviously I could have not finished the race."
When asked why he stayed out for such a long time before making his third stop – which essentially dropped him out of contention for second place – he explained that the team made the call, anticipating a safety car.
"The team was hoping for a safety car or something," he added. "I had so much damage that I couldn’t keep up with Kimi. I was fighting but the rear end was nowhere. I did what I could with it, and at the end was just trying to keep the tyres [fresh] in case I got a chance with the safety car.
"Congratulations to Nico, kind of an easy race for him I would assume."
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