Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he has been “living a nightmare” during his opening Formula 1 season with Ferrari as his Sao Paulo Grand Prix ended in retirement.
Ferrari endured a tumultuous outing at Interlagos as separate incidents culminated in both Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc not reaching the chequered flag.
For Hamilton, his bid to launch a comeback from 13th on the grid was hindered from the start when a three-wide moment into Turn 1 saw Carlos Sainz tag his Ferrari.
The minor touch dropped Hamilton down to 18th, where his race continued to unravel as he ran into Franco Colapinto on the main straight, costing him his front wing.
But while he was able to make it back to the pits to have a new wing fitted onto his SF-25, the damage that had been done to the floor compromised his car’s balance.
With the Briton having stated on team radio that his car had become nigh on undriveable, Ferrari chose to call him in to retire on Lap 37 to save mileage on his engine.
“A weekend to forget,” Hamilton told media including Motorsport Week.
“It’s a shame because I love Brazil and every single person in this team, they turn up every week and give it their absolute best.
“And to come away with nothing, to not finish a race, second time in the year [having finished outside the points in 2024], is really devastating.
“I feel terrible for the team. I’m sorry for my part in qualifying, putting myself in that position. We’ll get back up tomorrow and give it another go.”
Hamilton admits to ‘nightmare’ Ferrari experience
Hamilton’s premature exit compounded another dismal weekend during a debut campaign with Ferrari that sees him remain without a podium with three races to run.
“It’s a nightmare,” the seven-time World Champion, who also trails 66 points behind team-mate Leclerc, told Sky Sports F1. “I’ve been living it for a while.
“The flip between the dream of driving for this amazing team and then the nightmare of the results that we’ve had.
“The ups and downs. It’s challenging. Tomorrow I’ll get back up. I’ll keep training. I’ll keep working with the team.
“I really wanted to get them good points this weekend but I’ll come back as strong as I can in the next race and try to recover.”
Hamilton expressed that he is attempting to “keep his head above water and remain positive” in the hope that next season’s rule changes will deliver him better times.
“At this point I just got to believe that there’s something to come out from all this hardship we’ve been going through,” he added.
“I’m sure that we’re destined for something positive in future. Maybe we’re getting all our bad luck out of the way this year. We won’t give up, we’ll be pushing.”
READ MORE – Ferrari reveals extent of Lewis Hamilton damage in F1 Brazil GP
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