‘The bumpiest ride ever’ – Hamilton offers blunt assessment after salvaging point from tough Sao Paulo GP weekend

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton ended the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend with another open and honest review of the struggles he endured behind the wheel.

Having described his Sprint as “horrendous” and his car as “undriveable” after a Q1 exit qualifying, Hamilton had to settle for 10th and the final point in the Grand Prix, which team mate George Russell started from second and then led.

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Speaking post-race, the seven-time world champion admitted the situation was the same across the rain-hit encounter as it had been all weekend – with no let-up in the difficulties.

“Yeah, it was the bumpiest ride ever,” Hamilton commented. “I mean, I’m sure we had worse bouncing in 2022, but I think the car was better in 2022. It is what it is.”

Pressed on whether the situation should be better across the final triple-header, Hamilton added: “Uhh… I mean, Qatar should be better in a sense that it’s smooth. I don’t know about Vegas; hopefully Vegas won’t be as bad as here.”

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Despite the challenges he faced, Hamilton’s weekend will also be memorable for a positive reason thanks to the support offered to him by the Brazilian fans and his demo run in the 1990 McLaren MP4/5B of racing idol Ayrton Senna.

“Even with the results today, it’s hard to come away upset because the fans here are incredible,” said Hamilton, who was made an honorary citizen of Brazil back in 2022.

“It was such an unusual day with the early qualifying session, and they were queuing up from 0400 this morning – and you just cannot beat that commitment and positivity, no matter what the result on track.

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“It was so emotional to drive Senna’s car in front of them all, and to connect with the five-year-old child inside of me. That was a very special moment for me, and I’m very grateful we could make it happen in spite of the conditions.”