Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton lamented their Ferrari Formula 1 car’s lack of top speed after the Brazil Grand Prix sprint – and were at a loss to explain it.
Leclerc and Hamilton qualified eighth and 11th respectively for the sprint, with Leclerc openly struggling with the SF-25’s instability, which has been a recurrent theme this season.
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They managed to race up to fifth and seventh on Saturday, which was solely down to two factors – a great start from both, and Oscar Piastri’s crash from third. The duo still were unsatisfied with their machinery, ruing a lack of top speed this time around.
“I mean, I enjoyed the race,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. “It was tricky conditions. I moved forwards – I had a really good start. And then after that, the red flag kind of neutralised it – I think I had a pretty decent pace up until then. Everyone got fresh tyres, it was just really difficult to overtake.
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“But we do have problems with the balance of the car, and our top speed is really slow, so that’s why we can’t overtake. So we need to see how we can tackle that into qualifying.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Leclerc certainly knows how he’s going to tackle it, as he is planning to ‘experiment’ when it comes to his set-up for the remainder of the weekend.
“This weekend has been very, very tough, unfortunately,” the Monegasque told Sky. “We have an issue on both cars; we cannot quite explain what’s going on there. We are losing a lot of lap time in the straight.
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“We know we have higher downforce than others, but that doesn’t explain the gap that we see in the straight. So there’s something off that I hope we can understand before qualifying.
“I’ll [experiment] anyway with the set-up, because at the moment we are not where we want to be, and I don’t think it can be much worse than qualifying yesterday. So I’ll [experiment], and hopefully that will help us to do a step forward.”
Photos from Sao Paulo GP – Sprint Race
Lando Norris, McLaren
Lando Norris, McLaren
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Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
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Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
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George Russell, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes
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Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
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Fan atmosphere in the fan zone
Fan atmosphere in the fan zone
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
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Lando Norris, McLaren
Lando Norris, McLaren
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
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Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
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Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber
Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber
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Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
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Carlos Sainz, Williams
Carlos Sainz, Williams
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Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
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George Russell, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes
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Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
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Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team
Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team
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Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
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Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
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George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
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Lando Norris, McLaren
Lando Norris, McLaren
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Lando Norris, McLaren
Lando Norris, McLaren
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Cockpit cooling in the Aston Martin F1 Team garage
Cockpit cooling in the Aston Martin F1 Team garage
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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
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Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
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Fans
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Lando Norris, McLaren
Lando Norris, McLaren
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Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls Team, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls Team, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
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Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
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Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Franco Colapinto, Alpine crash
Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Franco Colapinto, Alpine crash
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Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, Franco Colapinto, Alpine
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Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls Team, Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
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Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing
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Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
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Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
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Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
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Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
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Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber
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Lando Norris, McLaren
Lando Norris, McLaren
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Lando Norris, McLaren, George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Lando Norris, McLaren, George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Lando Norris, McLaren, George Russell, Mercedes
Lando Norris, McLaren, George Russell, Mercedes
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Lando Norris, McLaren, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Lando Norris, McLaren, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Lando Norris, McLaren, George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Lando Norris, McLaren, George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
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Lando Norris, McLaren, George Russell, Mercedes
Lando Norris, McLaren, George Russell, Mercedes
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