Lewis Hamilton has written off his weekend at Interlagos after sustaining another premature Q2 elimination at Formula 1‘s Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Hamilton’s difficult start to life as a Ferrari driver continued in Brazil as the 40-year-old endured yet another Q2 exit during qualifying on Sunday.
The Sprint weekend had already started on a concerning note for the Briton as he failed to progress into the top 10 shootout during Sprint Qualifying.
The seven-time World Champion is now slated to start the Grand Prix on Sunday from 13th on the grid after missing out on the top 10 shootout.
Hamilton complained about the SF-25’s operating window and especially how sensitive the rear balance was to tyre temperatures at the circuit.
“The set-up is fine, just couldn’t get the tyres working,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
He highlighted how tyre temperatures ruined his balance during his flying laps commenting, “It’s all done in the garage.”
When prodded if it was the team that got the execution of his runs wrong, the 40-year-old defended the team and criticised the inherent deficiencies of the SF-25 instead.
“I don’t know, I can’t remember if it’s the same problem as before, it’s not the same, I think the execution in terms of the times we got out and everything is fine,” he explained.
“It’s just the rears are at a place that I can’t get to temperature for them to stop that.”
Hamilton writes off F1 Brazil GP weekend
The shorter-distance Sprint Race saw Hamilton claw back places to finish seventh at the chequered flag.
However, the Briton is under no illusions that he can manage to sneak back into the points during the Grand Prix, especially given how difficult it has been to overtake at Interlagos.
“Um… not great, not great. I’ll just do what I can tomorrow,” Hamilton said about his mentality going into the race on Sunday.
“It just continues to go bad every weekend, but I’ll get up tomorrow and try again.
“I’m not expecting anything to be honest, but we’ll see what happens, it’s another write-off weekend I guess.”
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