It’s only Friday, but the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend has already started on the wrong foot for Lewis Hamilton. The Ferrari driver, who has often expressed his strong bond with Brazil, endured a disappointing Sprint qualifying session at Interlagos, being knocked out in SQ2 and finishing only 11th. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion missed out on the top 10 by just 0.074 seconds.
Adding to the frustration, the driver who eliminated him from the final shootout was another car powered by a Ferrari engine — Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber. The German driver managed to snatch the final available spot for the SQ3 session, leaving Lewis Hamilton on the sidelines.
There’s still time to turn things around over the weekend, but this early setback has already raised concern inside the Ferrari garage. The battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship remains extremely close, with Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull separated by just 10 points. Every result now counts, including those from the Sprint race — where only the top eight finishers score points.
That means Lewis Hamilton faces a difficult task to climb into the points positions on Saturday. When informed of his elimination over the team radio, the British driver responded with a brief but telling message: “Every time it’s the same story,” he said, clearly frustrated by another qualifying disappointment.
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