Adamant Hamilton dubs himself 'quicker' than Rosberg

Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton has claimed that he is faster than his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg despite making a disappointing start to the Formula One season.

Rosberg has made a perfect start to his F1 season and currently holds a 43-point lead over Hamilton in the championship after winning his fourth successive race of the season at the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday.

In contrast, Hamilton had suffered from few technical issues and poor starts, thus making a second, third, seventh and second finish in the first four races of the season.

Hamilton, however, remains adamant that he is quicker than Rosberg since day one and is also optimistic to prove it in the remaining races, Sport24 reported.

The 31-year-old admitted that he failed to exploit fully at the Russian GP, but insisted he is sure of bringing his performance back on track as the season progresses.

Earlier, Hamilton endured another weekend of mechanical problems as he was unable to race in the final session of the qualifying after suffering an engine failure on Saturday. As a result of which the Brit was forced to start from tenth on the grid to eventually finish second at the Russian GP.

Hamilton hasn't won a race since claiming the world championship in Austin last year and has 17 more races left to defend his title.