Lewis Hamilton admitted his Sao Paulo Grand Prix was already “done pretty much” after he qualified 13th for Sunday’s race.
​​​​The Ferrari driver was knocked out in the second part of qualifying for the second successive day at Interlagos. Having qualified 11th for the Sprint, he managed just 13th place in main qualifying.
Hamilton struggled for rear tyre grip and temperatures in his Ferrari and finished one tenth of a second away from making the top 10.
“Just the way that we had it going today, the rears weren’t there,” he told Sky Sports F1.
Asked if the race might prove any better, Hamilton said: “Not from where I am. That’s the weekend done pretty much.”
Hamilton, who finished seventh in the earlier Sprint, added to F1: “The car setup felt good, it was just how we prepared the tyres.
“I can’t do anything from there.”
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Highlights of Qualifying from the Sao Paulo GP.
Team-mate Charles Leclerc had also been struggling for single-lap performance in the SF-25 until he hauled himself from the drop zone to fourth with his final lap of Q2. The Monegasque then went on to qualify third in Q3, one place ahead of McLaren’s title-contending Oscar Piastri.
Sky Sports F1 pundit Jamie Chadwick said: “Both Ferraris looked like they were struggling and might have been knocked out of Q2, and then next thing you know, Charles pops it into P3.
“So, Lewis himself must be confused.”
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Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton is eliminated from Q2 at the Sao Paulo GP.
How did Leclerc’s weekend turn around to third on grid?
Ferrari lost second place to Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship earlier on Saturday after their rivals finished second and third in the Sprint. Mercedes hold a six-point advantage heading into Sunday.
The Silver Arrows will again start with Kimi Antonelli on the front row for the Grand Prix, with George Russell sixth, but Leclerc’s third-place starting berth has given Ferrari a fighting chance to challenge for the podium across the 71-lap distance.
Reflecting on how his mediocre day suddenly turned around from the end of Q2, Leclerc said: “Everything is so close it goes from being a disaster of a weekend to a really good weekend in a matter of a few hundredths [of a second].
“I am happy I could put everything together in Q2 and Q3, which was crucial for us as everything was on the limit, and then P3 I’m satisfied with that. It has been a difficult weekend for us.”
Sky Sports F1’s Sao Paulo GP schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Sunday November 9
3.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Sao Paulo GP build-up
5pm: THE SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX
7pm: Chequered Flag: Sao Paulo GP reaction
8pm: Ted’s Notebook
Formula 1’s thrilling title race continues in Brazil with the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday at 5pm, with build-up from 3.30pm live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime