L
ewis Hamilton expressed his frustration at McLaren's lack of competitiveness after finishing in a lapped ninth place in the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona -- describing the car as "really hardcore" and saying that there was "no hope" of good results at present.
The World Champion ended the opening lap at the tail of the field after being forced onto the grass as the lights went out and then being delayed as he avoided the four-car pileup at the opening complex of corners on lap one.
After fighting his way up to the edge of the points positions, he was forced to make an early final pitstop after overworking his harder set of tires.
"What can I do? I drove my heart out, as I always do," Hamilton told BBC TV. "It's just that the car is not good. I just had no grip.
"It's just a shame they [McLaren] haven't given me a car to defend the championship with. The car is that bad. I'm driving the socks off it. There's just no hope."
Despite his tough afternoon, the British driver praised the efforts of the McLaren team and refused to write off his hopes of retaining the world title.
"I'm not even thinking about that," he added when asked if he was already out of contention for the championship. "We're not even halfway through the season and the car is really hardcore.
"At the moment, for sure we don't have the car to win the championship, but the team have done a fantastic job and every weekend they do a fantastic job.
"We have great reliability and the morale in the team is high. It's just a shame they've not given me a car to defend the championship with."