Lewis Hamilton’s São Paulo GP weekend was not the one he was hoping for, and the final laps at Interlagos summed up the frustration. The seven-time champion started 20th on the grid, surged to ninth after a superb opening lap, and then spent much of the race trying to manage changing conditions as Ferrari’s strategy calls came under strain.
Hamilton was in the mix early after moving up seven places on the opening lap. When the rain stopped and the track began to dry, Ferrari brought him in for slick tyres on lap 14. That decision was followed by another stop for a second set of slicks on lap 38, before the team switched him back to intermediates on lap 62 as the weather shifted again.
What went wrong at Interlagos
That final change proved costly. Hamilton spun at the final corner on lap 62 and nudged the wall with his rear wing, turning what had been a recovery drive into another reminder of how difficult the race had become. He eventually finished ninth, a lap down on winner Lando Norris.
The key issue was not just the spin itself, but the way the strategy unfolded around it. Hamilton disagreed with Ferrari’s pit calls during the race and later said the team did not appear to give him the most accurate information as the rain worsened. In a race where timing mattered on every lap, that left him fighting both the conditions and the decision-making inside the garage.
A difficult second half continues
Ferrari also appeared to lack the pace in Interlagos to make the podium in any case, which meant Hamilton’s late-race problems were part of a broader setback rather than the only issue. Still, the Brazil result fit into a disappointing second half of the season for Hamilton, who has now gone through another weekend where good moments were not enough to produce a cleaner finish.
From a strong start to a late spin, Hamilton’s race showed how quickly a mixed-weather Grand Prix can turn on strategy. He gained ground early, but the final stages left him with a result that reflected both the conditions and the confusion around Ferrari’s calls.
