Hamilton misses pit entry after late Ferrari call in Brazil

As rain returned late in the Brazilian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton missed the pit entrance after Ferrari called him in. He had to complete another lap on slicks on the wet track.

In onboard footage, the engineer’s call could be heard about three seconds before Hamilton passed the entrance, RacingNews365 said. The publication judged the instruction too late for him to react, even allowing for a possible delay in the radio audio.

Both Ferrari drivers had grid penalties. Hamilton started 20th and gained ground on the opening lap. He and team-mate Charles Leclerc said after the race that getting their tyres into the right operating window had been a serious challenge.

Hamilton had been fighting Liam Lawson for seventh. The Racing Bulls driver had been told of the plan to stop a lap before his own call to pit, leaving room for consultation. The instruction to come in arrived well before he approached the pit entrance.

Hamilton went off the track and spun on his extra lap. After his eventual stop, he had dropped to ninth.