World champion's opening three races blighted by incidents, but begins Russian GP by setting the Friday pace
Friday 29 April 2016 17:05, UK
Lewis Hamilton is "hoping for a clean weekend" in Russia after a difficult start to his championship defence in 2016.
A poor start in Australia saw Hamilton drop from pole to seventh on the opening lap, while another sluggish getaway in Bahrain led to him being caught up in a Turn One incident with Valtteri Bottas.
In China, Hamilton's problems continued with a five-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox ahead of the weekend. But things got worse when engine problems meant he failed to set a time in qualifying and had to start from last.
"There are loads of things that can come in the way. I am hoping for a clean weekend, we will see," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.
Asked how the car had felt during practice when he set the outright pace, he responded: "Generally good, not too bad."
However, despite ending Friday on top, practice wasn't without its dramas with Hamilton one of a number of drivers to spin off the track.
"Normally we do two runs, one on each tyre, but I destroyed one set with a spin so I had just the one run at the end," he said. "But it went well, seemed to be quite smooth and we seemed to have good pace."
Asked what caused the spin, Hamilton hit out a tyre supplier Pirelli.
"It is just these tyres, there is no grip on these tyres out there and you are just sliding around like crazy," he said.
"They have been like that for a long time, it is just here it is not a very abrasive surface so that is why."
Hamilton heads into the Russian GP weekend 36 points behind Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, who has won the opening three grands prix.
