News Summary
- Lewis Hamilton repeatedly asked Ferrari to clarify his race position during the São Paulo Grand Prix, according to radio messages not broadcast live.
- Race engineer Carlo Santi admitted he did not immediately know Hamilton’s position during a confusing sequence involving Lando Norris.
- The exchanges add to questions about Ferrari’s communication after Hamilton missed the pit entrance during worsening rain and finished ninth.
Lewis Hamilton’s previously unheard radio messages from the São Paulo Grand Prix reveal a series of tense exchanges with Ferrari race engineer Carlo Santi, including confusion over his position and the discovery that Lando Norris was about to lap him.
The seven-time Formula 1 champion started 20th, gained 11 places on the opening lap and eventually finished ninth. Radio excerpts show his frustration increasing as Ferrari struggled with tyre temperatures and changing weather conditions.
Hamilton questions Ferrari’s tyre strategy
Hamilton wanted to switch from intermediate to slick tyres as the track dried. Ferrari initially resisted.
The exchange on lap 10 began with Hamilton questioning whether the team was listening.
Hamilton: “Are you guys listening?”
He complained about losing positions and asked how far he had fallen. Santi rejected the immediate pit stop.
Santi: “Negative, negative. We are not in the crossover yet.”
Hamilton continued arguing that most of the circuit was ready for slicks, identifying the exit of Turn 12 as the remaining slippery section. Santi agreed with the assessment but wanted to wait.
By lap 14, Hamilton was again pushing for a tyre change. Ferrari eventually brought him in, but the stop did not produce the recovery he expected.
Hamilton demands to know why Norris is ahead
A subsequent pit-stop sequence created further confusion.
Hamilton encountered Norris and questioned why the McLaren was ahead of him. Ferrari could not immediately clarify the running order.
Hamilton: “What do you mean you don’t know, why’s Norris ahead of me?”
The exchange continued with Hamilton questioning whether he had been lapped and why Ferrari had stopped him.
Santi subsequently clarified that Hamilton was ninth and Norris was the race leader, one lap ahead.
The Ferrari driver was instructed to allow Norris through and concentrate on the cars with which he was competing for position.
The confusion was especially frustrating because Ferrari had previously identified George Russell and Nico Hülkenberg as strategic targets.
Hamilton misses pit entrance as rain returns
Hamilton later questioned how he had fallen approximately 30 seconds behind Liam Lawson.
The Ferrari driver began closing on the Racing Bulls as rain returned to Interlagos. Ferrari called him into the pits, but Hamilton missed the entrance.
Hamilton: “I missed the pit lane.”
He continued on slick tyres and spun during the following lap as conditions deteriorated.
Hamilton subsequently acknowledged that he had believed he could remain on track despite the rain.
Ferrari eventually confirmed his position, but the driver remained frustrated by the lack of clarity surrounding the race order.
The incident adds to the questions raised by Hamilton’s earlier explanation of the weather information available to Ferrari before his spin.
Ferrari faces further communication questions
The exchanges follow other difficult moments between Hamilton and Ferrari during the season, including disagreements over pit-stop timing in Azerbaijan and Singapore.
However, the Brazilian messages do not establish that Santi was responsible for every strategic setback.
Hamilton acknowledged his own decision to remain on slick tyres as the rain intensified.
The newly surfaced radio nevertheless reveals how often he sought clarification about his position and the cars around him during a race in which Ferrari struggled to recover from its grid penalties.
Hamilton finished ninth, while Charles Leclerc was classified eighth.
Ferrari now heads to Las Vegas with questions about tyre performance, strategy and communication after another disappointing weekend.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is following Ferrari’s preparations for the Las Vegas Grand Prix and every session of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
