Hamilton delivers bleak verdict with ‘another write-off weekend’ in Brazil
Ferrari was not as fast as it thought in Brazilian GP, says Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton has labelled his Brazilian Grand Prix weekend “another write-off” after qualifying 13th on a track where he fears “you can’t overtake”.
The seven-time World Champion was eliminated in Q2 at the Interlagos circuit where he was almost half a second down on the pace-setting time set by Lando Norris.
Lewis Hamilton isn’t expecting much at the Brazilian GP
He was on the radio several times to his race engineer Riccardo Adami to state with his rear tyres as the rear of his SF-25 getting away from him.
Speaking with Adami during Q1, Hamilton said: “I’m struggling to get the rears in, mate… Need to change plans for the tyres, mate.”
It was a complaint that continued throughout Q2.
“No power through the rears mate,” he told Adami.
“We need to fix the rears dude!” he later stated.
“No temperature or grip on the rears,” was his final complaint before his P13 exit
Speaking with the media after qualifying, Hamilton reiterated that it was an issue with the tyres that hampered him throughout qualifying.
“The set-up is fine, just couldn’t get the tyres working,” he said.
Quizzed on where he lost time, he replied: “Tyre temps. It’s all done in the garage.”
Lewis Hamilton v Charles Leclerc: F1 2025 head-to-head stats
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
Pressed on the problem, he replied: “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, it’s just the rears are at a place that I can’t get to temperature for them to stop that.”
And on a track where Hamilton lamented “you can’t overtake”, he’s worried he “can’t do anything from” from P13 in Sunday’s grand prix.
“Um… not great, not great. I’ll just do what I can tomorrow,” he added. “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.”
Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc had a better time during qualifying as he qualified third fastest and is eyeing his third successive podium result.
“I’ve had years where the car felt a little bit better than this year. But we’re starting in a good position, so yeah, if we manage to stay P3 or P2 or P1 after the start, then that will help us.”
Ferrari sits third in the Constructors’ Championship on 362 points, six down on Mercedes and 11 ahead of Red Bull.
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