After a disappointing start to the season, and a slow finish to the Chinese Grand Prix, it is no secret that Lewis Hamilton is seriously lacking confidence.

His form of recent has been poor, especially to his usual high standards, and he recently admitted he was "off the pace" and found himself in "no-man's land".

Hamilton, the current world champion, has struggled to replicate the form which gave him the prestigious title of being best in the world, and has insisted he has to figure out what is going wrong.

Despite cutting the points between him and current leader Sebastian Vettel to nine from 17, he is still some way off and his form has not gone unnoticed, with former teammate Nico Rosberg opening up on what he feels is going wrong for the Brit.

"Lewis is not in form but he's always had such phases," Rosberg told RTL television.

"If he's not confident, he starts to think and he makes mistakes.

However, as a former teammate of Hamilton's, Rosberg is aware of his talent and knows better than most not to write him off just yet

"I'm curious to see if he comes back in Baku," he concluded.

Hamilton will be the first to admit his mistakes, but he has also shifted some of the blame on to his team for apparently not reacting quickly enough when a safety car was deployed mid-race.

The Mercedes ace was left to finish the race on older tyres, which he felt allowed Australian Daniel Ricciardo to storm to an impressive victory.

This is not the first time Mercedes have made a mistake in such an important event, as it was reported a miscalculation on time in a pit-stop which allowed Sebastian Vettel to leap-frog Hamilton earlier on in the season.

Despite Hamilton's misfortune, he remains optimistic as Mercedes aim to turn their current form around and start winning races.

''Who knows what the season holds?'' Hamilton told reporters.

"But if there is an opportunity and we were to finish on top it would mean even more as it's an even tougher season than before."

It is clear to see Hamilton is struggling, and whether it is a confidence issue, or something going wrong behind the scenes at Mercedes, fans will be intrigued to see whether he can come back stronger than ever and mount a serious challenge in his next race, which will take place in Azerbaijan on April 29.