Lewis Hamilton at risk of grid penalty after Charles Leclerc spin

Lewis Hamilton has been called to see the F1 stewards in Brazil and is at risk of being demoted on the starting grid for the sprint race.

The seven-time champion looked due to the Saturday's sprint race in Brazil from 11th on the grid after enduring a difficult qualifying outing.

Hamilton was chasing the clock to get across the line in time to produce another effort, but came across a stricken Charles Leclerc on the race track.

Leclerc had spun as he was improving his own time, forcing race control to deploy double yellow flags in that section of track.

Hamilton came across the scene just seconds later, and as he continued to the line, he found the chequered flag had already been deployed, leaving him in 11th.

“Yeah, every time, mate,” Hamilton said over team radio as he vented his frustration with the situation.

However, it seems the 40-year-old may not have slowed down enough as he was flagged for an alleged yellow flag infringement.

Hamilton will visit the stewards after the session.