Hamilton hints at Mercedes’ TRUE pace after qualifying chaos in Brazil

Lewis Hamilton said he “did everything he could” to qualify for the Brazilian Grand Prix despite finishing a disappointing fifth.

There were some surprising results in the session, with both Aston Martins ahead of Mercedes as bad weather meant the drivers could only complete one lap in Q3, leading to an early end to qualifying.
Hamilton, Lando Norris and George Russell might have been expected to lead the way in qualifying, but that was not the case, with Charles Leclerc taking second, just behind Max Verstappen, and Lance Stroll taking a surprising third.
In the last five competitions, they have been eliminated in the first quarter.

Mercedes are optimistic that Russell can match the speed he achieved at the same circuit in Brazil 12 months ago when he produced a stunning one-two for his team.
Of course, they could still get that result, but both cars will start Sunday’s race on pole position, with Russell finishing sixth, one place behind Hamilton.

Storms bring dangerous situations

The São Paulo storm was felt strongly at the end of qualifying, with the drivers completing one lap before the storm hit the track.
The interview after the top three preliminaries took place indoors, the venue was closed due to heavy rain.

After qualifying, Hamilton explained to the media his performance and how the weather affected the final result.
“This is the fifth time. Fifth is never so great.
I did everything I could.
“Hopefully we can have a good run,” he admitted.
“I don’t know.
The car showed signs of decent performance, but overall we were a few fractions behind our best. I think past circumstances have set us back a bit.
It’s hard to say.”