But there were no bold statements on race day as he struggled to take a point and his team mate Charles Leclerc laboured to an eighth-place finish.
Bernie Ecclestone says his money is still on Red Bull's Max Verstappen to win the Formula One championship
Verstappen collided with Leclerc and twice with Mercedes' George Russell after the safety car restart.
Australian Oscar Piastri won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday to take the lead in the Formula One world championship
Verstappen crossed the line in his Red Bull for his 64th Grand Prix victory to a huge ovation from the 115,000 crowd some 1.4 seconds ahead of McLaren's championship leader Lando Norris in second place.
Hamilton told reporters at pre-season testing in Bahrain that he had yet to broach the subject of 'Hammer Time' with race engineer Adami.
Lando Norris put Formula One champions McLaren on pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix in track-record time on Saturday, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc alongside on the front row for his home race.
Norris's teammate Oscar Piastri, who spun off and finished ninth in his home race last Sunday after starting on the front row and challenging for the lead, has another good chance to rev up his season.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri celebrated pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix, his 50th Formula One race, while dejected championship-leading teammate Lando Norris qualified sixth and said he had been "clueless on track".
McLaren's Oscar Piastri seized the first proper pole position of his Formula One career at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday with the fastest lap yet around the Shanghai International Circuit.
Lewis Hamilton smashed the Shanghai circuit lap record on his way to a stunning first sprint race pole for Ferrari in China on Friday.
World champion Max Verstappen put Red Bull on pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in dramatic style on Saturday.
World champion Max Verstappen took pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday, stunning the McLarens with a late flying lap.
Australian Oscar Piastri roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris on Sunday.
Ferrari's underwhelming pace was a surprise to their rivals and to Hamilton, whose quickest lap in the final qualifying session (Q3) was nearly nine-tenths of a second slower than Norris's.
Lewis Hamilton will launch his bid to win the drivers' championship at a third F1 team when he makes his much-anticipated debut for Ferrari in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
McLaren's Lando Norris swept to victory in a wet and wild Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, holding off defending champion Max Verstappen in a white-knuckle finish to a Formula One season-opener littered with crashes and safety cars.
