Lewis Hamilton described trying to get performance out of Ferrari's car as "a fight like you couldn't believe", while Charles Leclerc said they were enduring an "unbelievably difficult" weekend, on a chastening Saturday for the team at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Hamilton made his comments after Saturday's 19-lap Sprint, for which he had started from the pit lane due to set-up changes after originally only qualifying 18th. He finished only one place better off in 17th and said on the radio afterwards: "I don't know how we made the car worse".

Team-mate Charles Leclerc had started in the top 10 but also struggled, despite sticking with the set-up he qualified with, with the Monegasque having numerous off-track moments on his way to 13th.

Ferrari's woes - and Hamilton's in particular - then continued on into main qualifying despite another round of set-up changes to the SF-25s.

Hamilton qualified 18th again and while Leclerc made the top 10 shootout once more, he ended up slowest in Q3 after a big high-speed spin on his first lap at Turn 15.

Asked to explain the issues with the car after the Sprint, Hamilton told Sky Sports F1: "We just don't have any stability.

"When I say that, (I mean) the rear end is not planted, so it's sliding, snapping a lot.

"Then we have bouncing, so when you're going into corners like Turn 10, the thing starts bouncing, we have a lot of mid-corner understeer, and then you apply the steering and then it snaps and you try to catch it.

"It's different between low, medium and high (speed), and it's a fight like you couldn't believe."

Leclerc then said after qualifying: "There's a bit of everything, unfortunately.

"There's mid-corner understeer, there's oversteer on entry and exit. It's been an unbelievably difficult race weekend just to drive and keep the car on track.

"It's frustrating to see that even maximum risk, a good lap is still bringing us P10 and nothing better."

Hamilton said the car had actually felt more compliant at the start of the later qualifying session following their latest round of changes, but that his final attempt of Q1 just did not come together. Ferrari cited traffic in their official press release as a contributing factor.

"The car felt a lot better, it just didn't reflect that in the times," said Hamilton, who has now fallen at he first hurdle in the last three qualifying sessions in either format and last made the grid's top 10 at the Mexico City Grand Prix on October 25.

"The car felt good. Honestly, the car felt a lot better than it was in the rest of the weekend. We were looking ok and then we just didn't get the last lap."

When his team-mate's remarks were put to him, Leclerc said: "I agree with Lewis' feeling.

"The car feels quite ok, it doesn't feel that much off the pace, but when you look at the timings we are very, very, very far.

"It's just the performance of the car at the moment, we are not where we want to be. I changed quite a bit on the car since yesterday but I couldn't extract any more."

Ferrari's failure to score points in the Sprint has further heightened the possibility of F1's most-storied team finishing fourth in this year's Constructors' Championship.

Mercedes - who start the race with George Russell in fourth and Kimi Antonelli in fifth on the grid - can clinch second place on Sunday with a round to spare if they outscore Red Bull, who have Max Verstappen in third, by four points and are not outscored by Ferrari by 21 points or more.

Third-placed Red Bull, meanwhile, have opened a 22-point lead over Ferrari.

Saturday November 29
5.15pm: Qatar GP Qualifying build-up
6pm: QATAR GP QUALIFYING
8pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook

Sunday November 30
11.55am: F2 Feature
2.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Qatar GP build-up
4pm: THE QATAR GRAND PRIX
6pm: Chequered Flag: Qatar GP reaction
7pm: Ted's Notebook

*also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1's season-ending triple header continues with the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime