Lewis Hamilton left despondent after a disastrous afternoon for Ferrari.

The seven-time world champion was already up against it having qualified a lowly thirteenth the day before, while his teammate put his car third on the grid.

Clouted by Carlos Sainz at the start, Hamilton subsequently ran into the back of Franco Colapinto, necessitating a pit stop for a new front wing while also earning him a 5s time penalty.

Such was the damage from the clash that the Briton subsequently claimed that it was unstable, and eventually the Italian team opted to retire him.

With Charles Leclerc eliminated in the clash at the restart this meant that Ferrari suffered its third point-less race of the season, whilst slipping to fourth in the standings.

"This is a nightmare, and I've been living it for a while," said Hamilton at race end.

"The flip between the dream of driving for this amazing team, and then the nightmare of results that we've had, the ups and downs, it is challenging," he admitted.

"This weekend has been disastrous and disappointing for everyone," he sighed. "I am trying to keep my head above water and remain positive."

Yet to score a podium, Hamilton is currently 66 points adrift of his teammate, who has out-qualified him 16 times this season and scored seven podium finishes.

"Charles did a great job in qualifying, so there is some performance in that car," said the Briton. "At this point I have to believe there is something to come out of all these hardships that we have been going through. I am sure we are destined for something positive in the future.

"Maybe we are getting all our bad luck out of the way this year, who knows? We will not give up and we will come back fighting at the next race."

Check out our Sunday gallery from Interlagos here.