Lewis Hamilton expressed that an end to his last Formula 1 campaign with Mercedes “can’t come soon enough” as he rued a “terrible” Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend.
Hamilton experienced a nightmare outing in Brazil as a point-less run in the Sprint materialised into a 10th-place finish in the main race from down in 16th on the grid.
The Briton had complained about his Mercedes car’s balance during the weekend across all conditions and he skated wide several times throughout a wet Grand Prix.
“Yesterday was terrible, today was terrible,” Hamilton told media including Motorsport Week post-race.
“Yesterday was bad, qualifying was bad, the Sprint race was bad. The car’s just been bad all weekend.”
Hamilton has struggled since Mercedes introduced an upgrade package in the United States last month which he suspects has not delivered what it was anticipating.
The seven-time F1 champion’s woes reached a low point this weekend as he branded how the W15 was behaving around Interlagos as the “worst car I’ve ever driven”.
Asked to decipher the car’s inconsistent behaviour, Hamilton responded: “You tell me. That’s the million-dollar question. If you can find it, I’ll give you a million dollars.”
Hamilton can’t wait to end F1 2024
Mercedes has been unable to maintain the momentum that saw it win three races prior to the summer break, with one top-three finish arriving in the past seven races.
Hamilton, who hasn’t been on the podium during that time, admitted that the season’s end “can’t come soon enough” as he prepares to move across to Ferrari in 2025.
The Briton conceded that his expectations going into the remaining three events are low unless Mercedes identifies a solution to the bouncing that has been an issue.
“I just put my focus on something else,” he added. “I’m not fighting for the championship, it doesn’t really matter where we finish in the championship.
“I don’t care if I finish ahead of George [Russell] or behind George, it doesn’t make that big of a difference to me.
“I just want to keep the car out the wall and try to score points if I can for the team.
“If I can finish well and they give me a car that doesn’t bounce off the track in the next few races, then hopefully we get a better result. Looking forward to Christmas.”
Hamilton ‘grateful’ despite tough weekend
Hamilton gained some solace from the weekend in that he got to sample his idol Ayrton Senna’s 1990 McLaren car around the circuit in the build-up to the race start.
“Well the race was c***, but driving Senna’s car was the best thing ever,” he stated.
“So, I’m still happy and grateful that I had that experience here in Interlagos.
“An amazing reception from the fans. They’ve been incredible this weekend.
“The fans turned up, I think, at 3 am this morning. So, unbelievable commitment from the fans here this weekend.
“Let’s not talk about the car, because you know the car is no good.”
READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes W15 felt like ‘the worst car I’ve ever driven’ in Brazil
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