Lewis Hamilton remained optimistic about the future on Sunday despite enduring another difficult weekend, which he described as a “nightmare” year with Ferrari.
Both the seven-time world champion and his
teammate Charles Leclerc had to retire from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil, where Hamilton is an honorary citizen.
Hamilton retired after 40 laps, battling with a damaged car following several incidents and a penalty. Leclerc retired on lap six after being involved in a collision where he was an innocent bystander.
“It’s a nightmare,” said Hamilton. “I’ve been living it now for a while and the flip between living the dream of driving for this amazing team and then the nightmare of the results that we’ve had.
“The ups and downs. It’s challenging, but tomorrow I’ll get back up. I’ll keep training and I’ll keep working with the team.
“I really wanted to get them good points this weekend, but I’ll come back as strong as I can in the next race and try to recover.
“We are really having to fight through those hardships at the moment, but I believe there is something up ahead in my life and in my destiny.
“Truly, I still believe in this team and what we can achieve. I just have to keep pushing and never give up.”
Trying To Stay Postive
Hamilton has set an unwanted record this season by going 21 races without a podium finish, the longest streak for any Ferrari driver, and suffered more bad luck at the start of the Interlagos race.
“I don’t really know what happened at Turn One, but obviously it’s not great to be hit and after that the car was just gone,” said Hamilton, who was given a five-second penalty for colliding with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto on the opening lap when he also in contact with Williams’ Carlos Sainz, the driver he replaced at Ferrari this year.
“But that’s how it has been this season. It’s obviously a disaster, a stress and a disappointment for everyone in the team. but I’m trying to keep my head above water.
“I’m trying to remain positive. Charles did a great job in qualifying yesterday so there is some performance in our car and I agree that at this point I just have to believe that something will come out of all these hardships we’re going through.”
(With inputs from Agencies)
