The seven-time world champion was forced to retire in Melbourne after a power unit failure

Lewis Hamilton reacted to a terrible weekend in Australia after being forced to retire from the race on Sunday.

Hamilton, who has not won an F1 grand prix in more than two years, endured his worst qualifying in Melbourne in 14 years on Saturday, putting his Mercedes only 11th on the grid.

Although Hamilton made up a place early on in the race, by lap 18 the seven-time world champion was finding it difficult to keep his car on the racetrack.

Then suddenly, his power unit failed, with Hamilton reporting: “Engine failure!”

With championship leader Max Verstappen having retired earlier, it represents a missed opportunity for Hamilton and his Mercedes team at Albert Park.

“I think the engine seized,” Hamilton said afterwards. “It appeared out of nowhere, it was a split second thing.

“Massive gap [to Red Bull]. I think they have a second from us, the way he [Perez] pulled down the straight… same as last year!”

Lewis Hamilton retired from Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix

(Getty Images)

Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell also retired from the race, crashing out on the penultimate lap to conclude a day to forget for Mercedes.

Fernando Alonso was, however, handed a 20-second time penalty for his part in Russell’s premature end to the grand prix.