Lewis Hamilton cursed a ‘nightmare’ maiden campaign with Ferrari and apologised to his team for his qualifying struggles after suffering an unfortunate DNF at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Both of the Scuderia’s drivers failed to take the chequered flag in Interlagos as the Italian constructor suffered a weekend to forget.
Hamilton started from 13th on the grid after suffering a second Q2 elimination in as many days on Saturday. Leclerc, meanwhile, launched from third on the grid, behind Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli.
The seven-time world champion’s race came undone at the first corner as he went wide at Turn One following a battle with Carlos Sainz. He then clipped his front wing on the rear of Franco Colapinto’s Alpine on the start-finish straight, which dislodged it and sent it underneath his car.
A safety car looked to have bailed Hamilton out, but the resting place of the front wing meant that the 40-year-old suffered intensive floor damage, which made the SF-25 undriveable, and forced Ferrari to retire his car.
“This is a nightmare and I’ve been living it for a while,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 in a dejected post-race interview. “To flip between the dream of driving for this amazing team and the nightmare of the results we’ve had, the ups and downs, it’s challenging.
In a separate interview, Hamilton issued an apology to his Ferrari team-mates back at Maranello, looking back at a race complicated by another underwhelming qualifying performance.
“It’s a shame because I love Brazil, and also, you know, everyone in the team, every single person in the team, they turn up every week and give it their absolute best, and to come away with nothing, to not finish the race – it’s the second time in the year – it’s really devastating.
“I feel terrible for the team. I’m sorry for my part in qualifying, putting myself in that position. I just have to… We’ll get back up tomorrow and just give it another go.”
Ferrari’s misery didn’t end with Hamilton. Leclerc was well-placed to fight for a podium finish, but found his name in the DNF column as well after Oscar Piastri’s audacious Turn One lunge sent Antonelli’s Mercedes ricocheting into the side of his SF-25 machine. The Italian constructor is now fourth in the standings, 26 points behind Mercedes in second.
