Jeremy Clarkson has described Lewis Hamilton’s Chinese Grand Prix performance as ‘so slow’ after the Briton finished sixth, behind his team-mate and Max Verstappen.

"It's important to everyone in Formula One that Ferrari does well because all the other teams are businesses, and Ferrari is more than that. It's the heart and it's the soul," Clarkson wrote in his column for The Sun.

"It was crucial then that the team's new boy, Lewis Hamilton, came out of the traps like he'd been fired from a gun. And how good would that be if it happened in China, in front of a crowd that thinks he's a god.

"And blow me down, it did. For the sprint race in Shanghai last weekend, the elder statesman took pole position and then cruised away from the pack to win the race as well."

Clarkson continued: "What's interesting, and troubling, is that a few hours later, having created headlines around the world, Lewis could only qualify for the main event in fifth. And in the race itself, he was so slow he let his teammate overtake. And then he was disqualified."

"How is that possible? I can understand that a car might be quick at one track and the following weekend at a different track be useless. But to go from hero to zero at the same track? On the same day? It makes no sense."