Lewis Hamilton puts Ferrari fans on notice with worrying message ahead of Bahrain GP

has sent a very straightforward message to Ferrari fans ahead of this weekend's . The seven-time world champion has endured a tough start to life at the Italian constructor and boasts just 15 points after three races.

showing at last month's Chinese Grand Prix had bordered on the absurd, with both drivers having been disqualified for separate reasons. They were able to turn things around, somewhat, in Japan, with Charles Leclerc placing fourth, while team-mate Hamilton finished three spots behind in seventh.

But it's still been an uninspiring opening month of racing for the Scuderia, with Hamilton pleading for patience heading into the fourth race of the season this weekend. Speaking to ESPN ahead of Friday's practice session, the Brit was asked if fans can expect a big turnaround in the Middle East, to which he replied: "Don't. Simple as that. Don't wait for anything. Just watch and enjoy. We're working as hard as we can, and that's all I can say. I have nothing else to add to that."

It isn't just Hamilton who is lagging behind in the points, with Leclerc having only managed 20 of his own. It means, as far as the Constructors' Championship goes, Ferrari find themselves trailing early pacesetters McLaren by over 70 points already.

Hamilton had been concerned following Sunday's race at the Suzuka Circuit, . However, despite his downbeat message to Ferrari fans about their chances this weekend, the former Mercedes ace has admitted he's confident improvements on the car have been made.

Hamilton mused: "I can't expand on that now but we've got a new floor this weekend so I'm excited. The team has worked really hard to bring, as teams do they work incredibly hard to be able to bring upgrades so to have that here, the track that we tested at and to have more knowledge about the car and how to attract more from it I feel really positive going into the weekend."

When pushed on why he's feeling positive, he concluded: "We've tested the car, we've run it with a set-up, and so we come here already kind of with a better understanding of the work... We did the tests here, we had three days.

"We had good days and bad days and the middle day particularly was a good day we've got a good set-up base to work from this weekend which is a bit of an advantage for everyone compared to some of the other tracks."