Leclerc and Hamilton describe tyre problems after São Paulo GP

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished eighth and ninth at Interlagos, with tyre trouble shaping different parts of their São Paulo Grand Prix. Leclerc said his opening stint was poor; Hamilton said his tyres faded as the track dried. Together they scored six points for Ferrari.

Hamilton started 20th after a grid penalty, gained 11 places in the opening laps and looked an early threat to the frontrunners. His rear-tyre performance then declined rapidly. Under investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, he gave a position back to Ollie Bearman to avoid a penalty. He was among the first to call for slicks as the circuit dried; Ferrari agreed after a back-and-forth over the radio, and the gamble paid off at first. After a spin, Hamilton recovered but finished ninth, a lap behind winner Lando Norris.

Leclerc faced a 10-place grid drop after changing his internal combustion engine. He said the execution was okay, but his first-stint pace was “horrendous”. Ferrari struggled to get the tyres up to temperature at the start, he said, and driving felt “like driving on ice”. The second stint on the soft was “actually pretty good”, he said, although he had little free air and lost time on the straights. Leclerc gained positions through the pit stops and switched to intermediates as the rain started, eventually passing Liam Lawson for P7 on the road. A post-race five-second penalty for minor contact with Lawson dropped him to eighth.

Hamilton took some responsibility for his late spin and praised Ferrari’s work through the triple-header; Leclerc said there was much for the team to learn. Ferrari’s six points made this its lowest-scoring weekend since the 2026 Italian Grand Prix.