Ferrari left Interlagos with little to celebrate on Sunday, its two drivers scraping together a meagre six points from a bruising Sao Paulo Grand Prix that exposed the SF-26’s shortcomings in changing conditions and left both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc searching for answers.
For Hamilton, the afternoon was a frustrating exercise in trying to turn an encouraging recovery into something meaningful.
Starting from the back of the grid in P20, the seven-time world champion made an electrifying getaway, charging through the field and climbing to ninth, even getting ahead of Leclerc in the process.
But the promise of that opening burst quickly evaporated. Hamilton struggled to manage his intermediate tyres as the track dried, with overheating rear rubber forcing Hamilton into an early switch to slicks.
Subsequent complications, including an additional pit stop and a costly misunderstanding over the worsening weather, further undermined his afternoon.
Leclerc, meanwhile, finished seventh on the road but lost a position after being handed a five-second penalty for his late-race collision with Liam Lawson.
Hamilton’s recovery derailed by tyre trouble and confusion
Reflecting on what became another arduous Sunday, Hamilton was quick to acknowledge the team's efforts while making little attempt to disguise his disappointment.
“It’s been a really, really, really tough day and weekend, I think, for the whole team. But they've done a really great job,” he said, referring mainly to the engine change undertaken by the team on Saturday, between FP3 and qualifying.
“All the mechanics did such a great job when switching out the engine, making sure the car was as good as it could be. We struggled in the dry, but had a great start. But unfortunately, the rear tyres just ballooned and overheated, and I struggled then.
“Then after that, I was pushing to go on to the slick, which eventually got on, I think, one of the earlier ones, and was feeling pretty good. It was very tricky in those conditions.
“And then, we ended up having an extra stop, which I think ultimately put me in a position where I had a lot of ground to cover from there.
“And then just at the end, they said in the last message I had that it was going to stay drizzling, and I was like, okay, this is my moment to keep pushing, and I could stay out in those conditions.
“I didn't hear that it was raining more in the first sector. And I passed the pit lane and got to turn one. It was wet, so, unfortunately, it lost us a couple of places, but otherwise, you know, the team did a good job.”
Leclerc battles tyre woes and 'horrendous' Ferrari
Leclerc had his own set of race day frustrations, beginning with a Ferrari that struggled to generate sufficient tyre temperature during the opening stint.
The Monegasque described the initial phase as particularly painful, suggesting the car was virtually impossible to control until the tyres finally came alive.
Although the switch to Softs brought a welcome improvement, traffic and a lack of straight-line performance continued to compromise his progress.
“The execution was okay but the pace was, on the first stint, horrendous for me,” Leclerc explained. . “Particularly at the start, we just have so many struggles in putting those tyres into temperature.
“It’s unbelievable, and it’s just undriveable. Lewis definitely found a way because he had an incredible start, but for me it was just like driving on ice. Later on I had the pace, but I had very little free air and we also lost a lot of time on the straights, so the first stint was very poor.
“The second stint on the soft was actually pretty good, but not much free air. At the end, by being patient and making the right choice late on, we ended up P7 behind the top three teams. It is the way it is.
“There is so much to be learned. I felt like we were going into the rain and it was like a coin flip – maybe we end up on the right side of things or we end up… it’s just a complete disaster to drive. We’ve got a lot of work to do on that side.”
Read also: Leclerc loses Sao Paulo P7 for late clash with LawsonLeclerc's assessment was hardly an endorsement of Ferrari's current capabilities in changeable conditions. His late penalty only added to the disappointment, turning an already modest seventh-place finish into eighth.
For a team that needs to make up ground on its leading rivals, Brazil offered little encouragement. Six points between two drivers, a car that struggled to switch on its tyres and operational headaches in unpredictable weather made for a thoroughly forgettable Sunday.
Ferrari will need considerably more than a few tweaks before its next outing if it hopes to turn the page on a weekend that exposed just how much work remains.
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