In the Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint Shootout, Lewis Hamilton repeated his qualifying performance, starting fifth on the grid for the Interlagos Sprint.
Lewis Hamilton, who was cost by an error in the São Paulo Grand Prix Sprint Shootout, has demanded that Mercedes build a “easier car to drive.”
After making a tiny mistake on the last sector, the seven-time World Champion will start fifth in the Sprint at Interlagos, behind teammate George Russell.
Hamilton acknowledged that his performance meant that he would start from the same starting positions in both the Sprint and the Grand Prix: “This is our normal, average scoring position, we are always pushing for more.”
“I think I could have been one or two places ahead on my final lap, but I gave it everything I had.”
“It’s never easy to get the temperatures just right, maximize the time on each tire, etc.
“I think I did, just had a bit of a snap at the last corner and lost a tenth and a half. The car needs to be easier to drive.”
‘Eyes forward on Norris’
Russell rebounded from finishing behind Hamilton in qualifying on Friday to get the better in the Shootout, but suggested there was little progress made by the team.
“We would like to say we made some gains but the truth is that conditions play a huge role,” said Russell.
“Sometimes it goes into your window and sometimes it goes away and it worked in SQ3.
It was disappointing for Lewis and me to finish fifth and sixth yesterday, and I obviously received a penalty for Sunday’s Grand Prix, but that was good and clean. P4 is about where we expected to be.
“I’m looking forward to this afternoon and hope that our race pace will outpace our qualifying pace.
“Max is going to be the fastest, no doubt about it. The good news is that the Ferraris are behind us, so focus on Lando.”
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