Lewis Hamilton’s Brazilian Grand Prix hopes shattered by ‘bruising’ sprint race as Max Verstappen wins in style
MAX VERSTAPPEN continued his phenomenal season with victory in the Sao Paulo sprint race as Lando Norris had to settle for second-best.
But Lewis Hamilton says he has no chance of winning Sunday’s grand prix after a “horrible” drive for seventh-place with his boss Toto Wolff calling it a “bruising day”.
McLaren star Norris had started on pole but was leapfrogged by Verstappen into the first turn on lap one.
Norris was also passed by George Russell before reclaiming second-spot behind Verstappen’s Red Bull, but was left frustrated by his start off the line.
He said: “Max doesn’t have more power, I think I have more power. I have to review it, it’s something to look back at.
“My initial start was good but my second phase of the launch, maybe I was just a bit conservative.
“I don’t think I had any wheelspin, I was just a little bit on the safe side. So things to improve for tomorrow.
“Nevertheless, I was caught sleeping a little bit with George on lap one, but the pace was strong after. I tried to go after Max but just didn’t have enough.”
After qualifying was wrecked by a heavy downpour, the sprint was held in brilliant sunshine and it served up plenty of overtaking.
But not for the man at the front, who had a quiet race after his move on Norris took him into the lead.
Verstappen said: “It was of course important to try and get ahead at the start. The initial launch wasn’t amazing but the second part of the start was very good so we got alongside [Norris].
“Then it was all about management. It’s a great start, I think we learned a lot during that race, and hopefully we can do something similar tomorrow.”
However, it was a disappointing result for Lewis Hamilton, who finished in seventh place after sinking like a stone.
Clearly upset, He trudged back to the team’s hospitality unit without removing his crash helmet.
He said later: “It was horrible. It was not enjoyable whatsoever.
“I had a good start and then after that just struggled with the balance. A lot of understeer, then snap oversteer, and I was just fighting the car from very early on.
“Then I had no tyres in the end. I don’t really know how I’m going to fix that for the race.
“It’s going to be a long afternoon, that’s for sure. I can only assume I’ve got the set-up wrong. It is what it is.
“I’ll fight as hard as I can, but we won’t be winning, that’s for sure. I’ll just be trying to see if I can manage the tyres better.”
Merc boss Toto Wolff admitted he was baffled by Hamilton’s poor result while Russell was fourth.
Wolff said: “We pushed very hard at the beginning, the car was not balanced right, and then you put in some sliding and it just killed the tyres.
“We had a little bit too weak of a rear end, and then obviously it’s balancing them on the knife’s edge.
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“Trying to hold onto the pace was maybe something we need to learn form, but a bruising day.
“I don’t think that there is a magic screw you can turn and then everything is fixed.
“We need to really scratch our heads hard over what we can do and improve.”