Hamilton blames rear tyres for struggles in São Paulo

Lewis Hamilton has said that the rear tyres on his first stint in his Ferrari ballooned and overheated during the São Paulo Grand Prix. He started from 20th on the grid after a series of power unit penalties and rose to ninth by the end of the first lap, but his race then unravelled on the intermediates in the wet conditions.

Hamilton made an early switch to the soft slicks, which he described as a difficult call in the conditions. Late in the race he spun on the hill while preparing to pit for a new set of intermediates, catching a barrier with the rear wing of his SF-26. He finished ninth and a lap down on race winner Lando Norris.

Hamilton said the team deserved a better result and that, with three rounds remaining, he was unsure where Ferrari would be on pace in the final races.