Hamilton emphasised the difficulties in adapting to a new team, especially around the specifics of the technicalities of a new car.

“On reflection, I was actually quite happy with how I’ve adapted in just those two races,” he said.

“I’ve definitely got a lot of work to do to make sure that it’s better moving forward.

“It’s just understanding the technical side of this thing, understanding all the tools that I have. It likes to be driven differently.

“After analysing the last two races, you’ve got the first race (in Australia)… I generally didn’t feel great in the car at the beginning, but my pace wasn’t too bad in the first two days.

“And Sunday was the first time I’d ever driven the car in the rain, and I was learning a lot throughout the race.”

Hamilton said that he had also been affected by lost running time in pre-season testing in Bahrain and being forced to miss a test in Abu Dhabi at the end of last year when other drivers tried out the new 2025 tyre designs.

Because of that, he said China “was the first time I’d actually done a long run” in the dry.

He added: “Every other driver here got to do Abu Dhabi tests and try the 2025 tyre. I didn’t. When we went into the race run in Bahrain, the car broke down, so I didn’t actually get to do a long run on any of the tyres.

“So, the sprint race was the first time I’d actually done a 20-lap stint on the tyre.

“And then, in the race, it was the first time I’d ever tried the C2 (compound). So, I was just learning that through the race.

“You don’t just put the tyre on and know what it’s going to do. I definitely feel like I was starting to feel the onward effect of not being able to do the test at the end of the year.”