Lewis Hamilton was left confused by a bizarre Ferrari team radio exchange with race engineer Carlo Santi during the 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix, repeatedly questioning his position on track before discovering that he had been lapped by Lando Norris. The conversation at Interlagos provided another example of the communication problems that complicated an already difficult afternoon for the Scuderia.
Ferrari’s Brazilian Grand Prix was marked by poor performance in wet conditions, strategic difficulties and misunderstandings between its drivers and the pit wall. The exchange between Lewis Hamilton and Carlo Santi was particularly revealing, with the seven-time world champion struggling to establish exactly where he stood in the running order.
Ferrari’s Brazilian GP nightmare exposes more communication problems
Ferrari returned from Brazil after a disastrous weekend. The SF-26 was effectively only the fifth-fastest car on track, even trailing Racing Bulls, while once again proving extremely slow and difficult to control in wet conditions.
For the Maranello team, however, one problem appeared to follow another. In the aftermath of the race, attention turned not only to the misunderstandings between the drivers and the pit wall, which reinforced the increasingly apparent atmosphere of mistrust within a team seemingly close to boiling point, but also to Ferrari’s gamble with tyre pressures.
The Italian team had experimented with higher tyre pressures to make it easier to bring the tyres up to temperature in colder conditions, addressing another weakness of the SF-26. However, the decision involved a significant compromise, with the early benefits giving way to problems as the conditions evolved.
The consequences of this approach were examined in greater detail through Ferrari’s tyre-pressure gamble at Interlagos, which helps explain why the car’s competitiveness changed so dramatically during the race.
Lewis Hamilton’s promising start turns into another difficult Ferrari race
Lewis Hamilton’s Brazilian Grand Prix summed up many of Ferrari’s problems. The British driver made an outstanding start, although team principal Fred Vasseur suggested that the higher tyre pressures had helped him gain positions during the opening stages.
That early progress quickly unravelled. The intermediate tyres effectively stopped performing, leaving Lewis Hamilton struggling for grip and pace as he dropped back to 14th position. At one stage, the Ferrari driver was even overtaken by Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin.
After two encouraging stints on the soft compound, another costly episode followed. Despite being instructed to pit by race engineer Carlo Santi, Lewis Hamilton missed the pit-lane entrance. The additional lap cost him several seconds, and he also spun before eventually switching to intermediate tyres.
The seven-time world champion ultimately finished the Brazilian Grand Prix in ninth position, having endured a race in which promising moments were repeatedly undermined by performance and communication difficulties.
Ferrari’s wider struggles with tyre temperatures were another important factor, with the team’s substantial time losses during the Brazilian Grand Prix illustrating how difficult it was to maintain competitive pace as track conditions changed.
Lewis Hamilton and Carlo Santi’s bizarre Ferrari team radio at Interlagos
One particularly unusual exchange occurred after Lewis Hamilton emerged from the pit lane on lap 40, having fitted his second set of soft tyres. The Ferrari driver asked race engineer Carlo Santi about his position, triggering a conversation that illustrated the confusion affecting both sides of the team’s radio communications.
Carlo Santi initially instructed the driver to focus on the out-lap and switch to race mode, while also informing him that he was racing against Lando Norris.
Carlo Santi: “Critical out-lap, race mode, we’re racing Norris.”
However, the situation was rather different from what that message appeared to suggest. Lando Norris was actually leading the Brazilian Grand Prix and was in the process of lapping Lewis Hamilton.
The Ferrari driver initially reacted by assuming that he had lost a position.
Lewis Hamilton: “Oh, damn, we’ve lost the position.”
As he approached the end of the lap, the confusion had still not been resolved. Lewis Hamilton returned to the radio, clearly struggling to understand the running order.
Lewis Hamilton: “What’s going on? I don’t know where I am…”
Carlo Santi: “I’ll let you know.”
That response only prompted further questions from the British driver, who wanted to understand why the McLaren was ahead of him and whether Ferrari had fallen a lap behind the race leader.
Lewis Hamilton: “What do you mean you don’t know? Why is Norris ahead of me? Are we a lap down?”
Carlo Santi: “Yes, we’re a lap down, we’re a lap down.”
Ferrari radio confusion highlights a frustrating afternoon in Brazil
The conversation captured the communication difficulties that emerged during Ferrari’s race at Interlagos. Lewis Hamilton was attempting to understand his position after another pit stop, while the information provided over the radio initially failed to make clear that Lando Norris was leading the race and lapping the Ferrari.
It was another frustrating moment in an afternoon already complicated by tyre problems, difficult handling and the missed pit-lane entry. Rather than being able to concentrate entirely on recovering positions, Lewis Hamilton found himself seeking clarification about the running order.
The changing positions and pit-stop sequences during the race can be explored through the F1 Race Position and Progression Tracker, which provides a lap-by-lap view of how drivers move through the field.
For Ferrari, the Brazilian Grand Prix exposed problems extending beyond the limitations of the SF-26. The misunderstandings between Lewis Hamilton and Carlo Santi illustrated how communication between the cockpit and pit wall became another source of difficulty during an already troubled race.
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