Sir Lewis Hamilton was left a little embarrassed after qualifying at the back of the grid for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil.
It comes after the seven-time F1 champion begged to race in torrential conditions as qualifying was delayed a day after heavy rain hit the Interlagos circuit.
The session was due to take place on Saturday evening UK time but was postponed to Sunday morning.
Conditions were still very wet with Williams’ Franco Colapinto and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainzspinning their cars into the barriers and bringing out the red flag.
But a big shock came when Hamilton, one of the best wet weather drivers in the sport’s history, struggled to get to grips with his Mercedes and was knocked out in the first part of qualifying.
He’ll line up 16th on the grid for the race which, weather permitting, will get underway at 3:30pm on Sunday.
After Saturday’s session was called off, Hamilton interrupted a live interview with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali where he jokingly demanded ‘better tyres’ and the chance to drive in the monsoon like conditions.
‘You should’ve sent us out, this is ridiculous, we should go out! I wanna go out,’ a smiling Hamilton said as he embraced Domenicali.
‘If you give us better wet tyres or blankets we’d be able to run in this! I’m putting you on the spot!’
But following qualifying, the Brit would have been wishing the conditions were a little drier, though it may not have made much of a difference given how he’s been struggling with his Mercedes W15.
‘This damn car. Why?’ the 39-year-old fumed over the radio after being knocked out.
More to follow…
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