Lewis Hamilton Seriously Ridiculed as He Is Accused of Using ‘Excuses to Justify His Stupidity’ at…
Lewis Hamilton Seriously Ridiculed as He Is Accused of Using ‘Excuses to Justify His Stupidity’ at the São Paulo Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton has now been warned that “arrogance never pays”, as his behaviour during the 2026 F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos last Sunday frustrated former Ferrari race engineer Luigi Mazzola.
Mazzola spent 22 years in Maranello working with drivers including Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Nigel Mansell, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa. But the mechanical engineering graduate “never” saw a driver act like Hamilton did during the 2026 Sao Paulo GP throughout his time with Ferrari from 1988 until 2009.
Hamilton endured a very disappointing day at Interlagos, as the early progress he enjoyed from P20 on the grid due to a penalty for a new power unit did not continue throughout the race. Despite climbing to P9 on the first lap of the Sao Paulo GP, the seven-time F1 champion yo-yoed until he finished one lap down in P9.
Lewis Hamilton blaming Ferrari’s lack of information for his Sao Paulo GP spin irks Luigi Mazzola
The start was Hamilton’s only positive from the Sao Paulo GP, as he gained 11 places thanks to producing the perfect launch and picking off drivers with ease through the first sector alone. But his race did not continue to develop in the same manner, as Ferrari struggling with tyre temperatures in Brazil proved to be costly.
Strategic decisions also held Hamilton back in the Sao Paulo GP, through Ferrari’s fault and his own. Ferrari rejected Hamilton’s early pleas to pit during the Sao Paulo GP as they did not feel the track was dry enough for slick tyres, and he later stayed out one too many laps before going back onto the intermediate tyres.
Ferrari had told Hamilton to pit for intermediate tyres when the rain returned to Interlagos, but he stayed out and claimed over the radio that he missed the pit entry. However, the extra lap proved to be a costly error, as Hamilton spun at Subida dos Boxes (Turn 14) and was lucky to only kiss the wall with his rear wing.
Mazzola especially took issue with how Hamilton handled the latter of his and Ferrari’s strategic incidents during the Sao Paulo GP last weekend. He did not like that Hamilton also suggested after the race that he stayed out despite Ferrari’s call to pit as the team told him the intensity of the rain would stay the same.
“Hamilton found excuses to justify his stupidity,” Mazzola told Fanpage. “He said he understood the rain wouldn’t get worse, that he’d been given certain information. But you see it while you’re driving, right?
“And then, from the garage, you can see how many other drivers are coming in to change tyres. You have that parameter, too. If they tell you to pit and you don’t trust them, or your intuition tells you to keep going because you don’t think the conditions will change, then a seven-time champion has made a huge mistake.
“This is already the second time he’s made mistakes like this, and it ends up casting doubt on the experience he’s trying to bring to the table to dictate directions. If I were him, I’d be a driver and stay calm, instead of trying to do who knows what.
Arrogance never pays, even when it comes from a world champion like him. Hats off to him for what he’s accomplished in his career, but right now he’s taking certain positions both on and off the track.”
Ferrari’s reluctance to pit Hamilton for slick tyres too early did not make much of a difference to his race, as he was still the first to swap the inters for slick tyres on Lap 14 of 71. Had Hamilton pitted for the soft C5 Pirelli tyres when he first asked to box, he would have likely lost a lot of tyre temperature, as well.
But Hamilton’s extra lap on soft tyres before pitting on Lap 62 proved costly, as he lost a lot of race time and even fell a lap down to the race leader, Lando Norris of McLaren.
Hamilton was right behind Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and ahead of Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc when they pitted, but returned to the track more than 25 seconds behind Leclerc after pitting straight after spinning.
