Lewis Hamilton has conceded his Japanese Grand Prix was “pretty terrible” as he struggled around Suzuka.

Starting from sixth on the grid, the four-time F1 champion made a positive start as he looked to back up his China podium with another run to the top three.

Hamilton looked to be on course for a rostrum role with a well-timed safety car intervention following Haas driver Oliver Bearman’s 50G crash on lap 22 of the 53-lap race.

After emerging from his pit stop in fourth, Hamilton passed Mercedes’ George Russell at the restart for third, a position he held until late in the race when he was overtaken by Russell and McLaren’s Lando Norris, finishing where he had started in sixth.

When asked by Sky F1 to sum up his race, Hamilton said: “Pretty terrible. Ultimately, I was P3 and ended up going backwards.

“We need to understand where I was losing all the power. I just had a real lack of power throughout, particularly the second stint.

“But a majority of the race, even from the beginning, I couldn’t keep up with people just for the lack of power.”

Hamilton insisted he was following the team’s instructions regarding energy management, but was still left on the back foot.

“I’m full gas, and I’m managing where I’ve been asked to manage, yet for some reason [I was] just lacking power.

“So we need to figure out if there’s something wrong with the car or not. But still, we got some points.”

Hamilton now sits fourth in the drivers’ championship after the opening three rounds on 41 points, 31 behind title leader, Kimi Antonelli.